


I kid You Not!

by evilregal



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kid Fic, Mad Science
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:32:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3409010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilregal/pseuds/evilregal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>De-aged fic. JJ and Morgan are turned into children by a mad scientist during their latest case. What will happen when the team head back home? Mostly friendship fluff! No pairings. Rated T for language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive the many liberties I took for this story to *work*
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. All mistakes are mine.

They all sprang into action when they heard JJ's terrified piercing scream. It bounced off the empty walls, echoing through the entire house, lingering in their ears as if set on a loop. Screw protocols, one (or two) of their own was in danger.

"Go! Go!" Their unit chief yelled unnecessarily, waving his left hand. The team was already in motion.

Prentiss was the first to reach the narrow staircase and climbed the steps two at a time, followed by Rossi, Reid and Hotch covering their backs.

"Oh god, JJ! What the hell have you done to her, man?" they all heard Morgan yelled.

“I’m not going back to jail. Enjoy your second chance at life, agent,” an unfamiliar voice said.

"Wait! No, don't!"

A shot rang out. Prentiss ran to the end of the hallway and entered the last room on her left.

"JJ, Morg..." When her brain caught up with what she was seeing, she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling Rossi bump into her. She lowered her weapon, unable to tear her gaze off her friends.

"Oh my god..." Reid breathed out, blinking several times.

"What the..." Rossi murmured, holstering his firearm.

Hotch had remained characteristically quiet, taking in the scene before him. The room was small and dark. The two windows had been covered up with what appeared to be black extra-strength garbage bags. Sunlight filtered through the clear duct tape that held the makeshift blinds, casting an eerie glow into the room. Just like the rest of the house, the room had been packed. A couple of carton moving boxes were stacked by the door. Empty wooden shelves lined the back wall, and the only furniture left was an old oak desk. Their UnSub, Doctor Nathaniel Cook, wanted for murder and illegal human experiments, was lying motionless on the floor, a pool of blood expanding slowly underneath him. If he wasn't dead, he was close, but not a single one of them took a step forward to check or call for the medic.

On the other side of the room, a little blonde girl was sitting on the floor, her head poking out of a Kevlar vest. A boy stood by her side, holding up his pants up to his chest so they wouldn’t fall. Both were staring at each other in shock. The rest of the team stood in the doorway unable to move, dumbfounded to find that their friends had been turned into kids.

Hotch finally step forward, his hand hovering over Emily's shoulder for a second as he walked past her. He kicked Cook's tranquilizer gun away, before crouching down next to him. He pried the revolver out of his limp hand and checked for a pulse.

From what the unit chief could tell, Nathaniel Cook had felt cornered and decided to take his own life. It wasn’t uncommon for UnSubs to commit suicide when the police closed on them, but it didn’t make it any easier to witness.

"He's gone," Hotch said, looking over his shoulder.

His words seemed to pull everyone out of their trance. Prentiss walked up to the...kids, and kneeled down in front of them. She grabbed both of their guns and threw them to the other side of the room. No child should have a weapon at their reach.

"JJ, Morgan?" she said tentatively, resting her hands on her thighs, unsure of what to do or say. Her best friend looked up, her big blue eyes swimming in tears.

“Em, Em, please tell me that this is a dream. A really bad dream,” JJ pleaded, tears running freely down her cheeks. “Please, this can’t be real. I’m not a kid, this is wrong. I…What is happening to me?” she whispered more to herself, staring vacantly ahead of her and shaking her head in disbelief.

Not knowing what to say to comfort her friend, Prentiss unfastened the velcro straps and got the vest off the little girl carefully. Once she made sure her t-shirt was long enough to cover her bottom and lifted her gently, pulling her onto her lap. She wrapped an arm around her small shoulders protectively.

“It’ll be okay,” Prentiss said finally, stroking JJ’s hair reassuringly.

“What the hell happened?” Rossi asked, taking a step into the room.

"I think we sorta figured out how he did it, uh?" Morgan answered, stomping his little foot in frustration. “Cook shot her with some kind of dart, I don’t know. And JJ…she just shrank right before my eyes. I guess it was filled with a de-aging serum or something, and then…”

“Did it hurt?” Reid blurted out impulsively, his insatiable curiosity getting the better of him.

Four pairs of eyes turned on him, glaring. The genius shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet, looking apologetic, a bright shade of pink staining his cheeks.

“Sorry,” Reid muttered.

“Are we gonn’ die?” JJ whimpered, nervously raking her fingers through her messy hair.

“Nobody is going to die,” Rossi assured calmly.

“We need to get them to a hospital,” Prentiss said urgently. She had almost added ‘we have no idea what they’ve been injected with,’ but decided to keep the last part to herself. Everyone was stressed enough already. Seeing JJ – who usually had perfect control over her emotions – so distressed made her feel uneasy.

“Emily is right. Dave, call the ME and crime scene techs in,” Hotch instructed, “The two officers outside can wait for them. Reid, go back to the lab in the basement and look for a cure. Bring everything you find to the hospital with you.”

+++

The BAU had received a call asking for a consult on a case in California. Seven bodies had been found in the Los Angeles area. The victims had nothing in common, except for the cause of death which had been a fatal dose of potassium chloride.

The ME and the local authorities had been at loss. Four bodies were found with their IDs putting them in their mid-twenties. The families confirmed they were all wearing the clothes they had last been seen in. Piercings and tattoos on two of them verified their identities, yet the victims appeared to have been aged a few decades.

Three of the victims were young children between the age of six and ten, but when the medical examiner ran their fingerprints to see if they could find a match in IAFIS, two of them turned out to be young adults in their early twenties; a young marine and a nurse working at the UCLA medical center. The last victim's prints hadn't turned up in any database, and considering the strange and unexplainable circumstances in which adults seemed to be turned into children or elderlies, the police weren't exactly sure how to narrow down the search throughout the list of missing person.

Morgan and Prentiss had joked, in a moment of desperation, that their UnSub was a mad scientist who had somehow figured out how to de-age or age human bodies, but so far his attempts to bring them back to their original age had failed. Giving them the lethal injection had only been his way of getting rid of his failed experiment subjects.

Reid, of course, had argued that this scenario was highly unlikely; biological aging scientists had only recently started to focus on telomeres and their role in human aging.

“A telomere is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a…”

“Reid, Reid, we were only kidding,” Prentiss had interrupted him before he could recite the entire article she was sure he’d read and memorized in some scientific magazine.

Little did the team know that for once, Spencer Reid was wrong.

+++

"So you're saying we're stuck in these ridiculous bodies?" Morgan screamed, wincing at the high-pitch timbre of his own voice.

"Until we can figure out how to safely age you back, I'm afraid so, yes," Doctor Lambert said apologetically.

The little girl sitting next to Morgan on the examination table buried her face in her hands and started crying once more. Prentiss rubbed her back reassuringly, telling her for the umpteenth time since they had left Cook’s house that it would all be okay.

The brunette glanced at Morgan. The boy was sitting still, arms crossed over his chest with his feet dangling from the table. If JJ had been overly expressive since being shrunk, Morgan had been the exact opposite. At the exception of one or two choleric outbursts, he had remained impassive.

When the children had been brought to the ER by their team, the nurses had thought Rossi was joking when he had showed his team's credentials and told them what had happened. FBI Agents turned into kids by a mean man with a shrinking gun, really?

It had taken a couple of hours to convince Doctor Lambert and his staff of nurses that they were telling the truth. They had interrogated the _'children'_ separately, and if these kids weren't geniuses, they were obviously telling the truth. Morgan had actually made the nurse blush when he told her in great details how his last date had ended.

Once everyone believed them, the nurses had checked the kids' vitals and asked them a few questions. One of the nurses kept hovering, asking over and over if they were feeling sick or dizzy. JJ who hated being fussed over had told the nurse she was actually starving and asked her if she didn't mind getting her a candy bar. Surprised, by the snappish tone of her voice, the nurse had complied and left the room. Morgan had shot her an admiring look and chuckled. Hotch, on the other hand, hadn't been amused.

"Agent Prentiss," Doctor Lambert started, "if you want you can take Agents Jareau and Morgan up to the fourth floor. There's a shop where you can get them both proper clothing," he said gesturing to the children wearing hospital paper gowns. "I'll work on their release papers with Agent Hotchner here."

The doctor actually wanted to let Hotch know what was going on with his two shrunk agents without upsetting the children. They already had been through enough for the day.

"I think they also have an ice cream shop," Hotch added. "I don't know about you, Prentiss, but I'm in the mood for a cone." He gave her a tight smile. Ice cream always made Jack feel better, and he was hoping it would cheer his two young agents. She nodded in agreement, and Hotch asked her to send Reid in on their way out.

The older woman picked a teary JJ up, and swung her onto her right hip, "Let's go get some clothes and ice cream!"

She offered a hand to Morgan to help him climb off the table, but he swatted her hand away rudely.

"I can do it by myself, I'm not a child!" He jumped to his feet, but swayed slightly before regaining his balance. "And I don't want some stupid ice cream! I’m not four. Ice cream won’t make anything better. Do you think I'm dumb as well as short? I just want to go home! Let's get out of here. This is a freaking nightmare."

"Well, you are acting like a kid," JJ pointed out, sniffling. "You keep throwing tantrums since we got in the car. And ice cream is not stupid! I want some," the little girl squeaked pathetically.

"Yeah, well you're stupid then," Derek retorted pettily, stomping out of the doctor's office to join Reid and Rossi in the waiting room where they were sitting.

"I'm not stupid," JJ muttered, hiding her face in the crook of Emily's neck.

"Of course you aren't, Jayje," Emily said, rubbing circles on the little blonde's back. She exchanged a baffled look with her boss who simply shook his head, before walking out of the room.

"This is what I thought would happen," the doctor confessed. "Your agents will keep their memories, but their child instincts will be stronger. They cannot be left by themselves. In a couple of days, they'll be acting like children again."

Hotch stared blankly at the doctor, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Let's say they fall," Lambert started to explain, "even if it didn't hurt, they'll cry. They might be able to fight it at first, but I don't know for how long."

Reidchose that moment to let the two men know he was in the room.

"So you're saying they will retain their full memories, but will have the logic of what, seven and nine year-olds? Fascinating..." Reid murmured, tapping a long finger on his chin. Hotch shot him a severe look, not appreciating the young doctor's enthusiasm about their colleagues’ predicament.

"Actually Agent Morgan has the child emotional development and motor skills of a eight year-old and Agent Jareau of a five year-old," the doctor corrected him.

"When can I expect my agents to regain their original bodies and faculties?" Hotch inquired. It really was all he wanted to know. He didn't care about medical and psychological talks. He was their unit chief, this was on him. He had one pissed off Morgan and a traumatized JJ waiting for him in the waiting room, not to mention he would have to deliver the news to Strauss.

"I can't say. I have never seen anything like this. It could be a few weeks, months...years," Dr. Lambert answered dejectedly. "It'll be easier to estimate once my team gets the cure samples you have recovered from the suspect's lab."

"Years? And what exactly am I supposed to do with Agents Jareau and Morgan in the meantime? I can't exactly send them home and tell them I'll call when the cure is ready, now can I?" Hotch questioned, hitting Dr. Lambert's desk with an open palm.

"Hotch!" Reid exclaimed, surprised by his boss' outburst. "I…I read somewhere that children are highly adaptable to any kind of situations. JJ and Derek are little kids now, they'll be okay."

Hotch sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Feeling guilty for losing his temper in such an unprofessional manner, he apologized. The doctor waved off his excuses assuring him he understood; he couldn't imagine how stressful the situation was for the FBI agents.

"I suggest you go back home, and decide of a plan of action. Agents Morgan and Jareau should be taken care of like you would any children their age, but do not baby them. They should be able to make rational decisions if prompted. They definitely should have a say in what will happen to them while we work on a cure. Don't take what little power they have left away from them; they could resent you for it. My team and I will do our best to get your agents back to normal as soon as we can, agent Hotchner," the doctor promised.

Reid and Hotch rose from their seat and shook the doctor's hand in turn.

"I think it goes without saying that you are to keep this dire situation confidential. The press cannot hear about this," Aaron said sternly.

"Of course," Dr. Lambert nodded.

"Would it be okay if I called you sometimes, and we could discuss further about what's happening to my friends?” Reid asked, “I would really like to..."

"Reid," Hotch interrupted. "We really should get going now. Thank you, doctor."

"Yes, of course," Doctor Lambert said, answering Reid’s question. Then turning to Hotch, "I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

 

+++

 

Hotch and Reid walked out into an empty waiting room. Figuring Prentiss and Rossi were still on the paediatric floor with JJ and Derek; they made their way to the elevators. The agents were both quiet, trying to process everything that Dr. Lambert had said.

The fourth floor was loud and crowded. The ambiance resembled more one of a mall than a hospital. They found Morgan sitting by himself on the floor near the gift shop. Hotch noticed he had changed into a pair of tan cargo shorts and a white t-shirt and he was wearing black rubber flip-flops.

"Hey, Morgan!" Reid greeted him. "Where are the others?"

The boy looked up, eyes shooting daggers at the two older profilers. He pointed behind him at the store.

"Blondie can't fucking choose an outfit!"

An old lady passing by gasped as she heard Morgan swearing, and gave Aaron a reproaching look, shaking her head and muttering to herself about how children were so disrespectful these days. Hotch had the decency to look embarrassed and apologized. He was about to reprimand Morgan when JJ came out of the store running. She was wearing a bright pink t-shirt with a huge lollipop under which was written ' _suck it, cancer_ ' in glitter, a multi-coloured skirt and lime green crocs. She smiled brightly at Hotch showing him her new clothes.

"Ho’ch! Look at my shirt! Isn't it funny? It says ss-suck it! And it's a lollipop! You get it, Spence?" the little girl giggled to herself, unaware of the bewildered looks that were exchanged between the adults.

"You look ridiculous, JJ," Morgan said scornfully.

"Morgan!" Prentiss exclaimed, shocked by her partner's rudeness.

"What? It's true, you all are thinking it…" he shrugged. "And she doesn't even have cancer!"

JJ turned to face her best friend, tears already flowing down her cheeks, "Why didn't you tell me I look stupid? You said it was cute!" The blonde had hurt written all over her face.

JJ ran to her boss, hiding her face in his legs, unashamedly holding her arms up for him to lift her up.

Hotch bent down and awkwardly picked her up. As soon as she had her face buried in his chest, his paternal instinct kicked in, and he found himself bouncing her gently and smoothing down her hair.

"Emily was right, JJ. Your outfit is adorable," he tried to comfort her. "That shirt is awesome!" He pinched the bridge of his nose, not believing what he was saying. Reassuring his agent over her choice of clothing? That's what’s ridiculous.

"Everyone is a bit emotional today,” Hotch went on. “Morgan didn't mean to hurt your feelings, he's just overwhelmed too," he assured her.

Hotch could feel her sobs subsiding. He put a finger under her chin, and tilted her head so she was looking at him.

"Do you like your outfit?" he asked intently. She nodded shyly. "Then that's what matters. Now how about we get that ice cream?"

"Can I get two scoops?" JJ asked hopefully, holding up two fingers, tears forgotten at the mention of the frozen treat.

"I think that can be arranged," Hotch winked at her, before putting her down on her feet.

"Even if you'd ha' said no I woulda got two because I'm a fully grown adult," JJ stated very seriously, oblivious to the fact that she was childishly chewing her words.

Emily laughed frankly, "Nice one, Jayje!" She walked past her boss, and patted him lightly on the shoulder. "You invited, you pay." Hotch shook his head, smiling.

Everyone headed to the ice cream parlor, JJ skipping ahead of the team. Rossi turned around when he noticed that Morgan wasn't following them.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Nope," Morgan was still sitting on the floor, his arms resting on his knees. He wouldn't meet the older profiler's stare.

"What was that earlier?" the Rossi demanded, "You are never this callous, especially not to JJ."

"She was acting like a freaking baby, man! Hotch, look at my sparkly shirt!" he mimicked his friend. "What the fuck? She's a fucking thirty-two year-old woman!" he spat angrily.

"And you were acting like a seven year-old boy with no manners!" Rossi retorted. "Listen, Derek. We can't imagine what you are going through, you and JJ. This situation is frustrating, scary, but it's temporary. So why don't we all try and make it easier for everyone? JJ is also having what is probably the worst day of her life, and she didn't deserve your disobliging remarks."

"I know, you’re right," Morgan said pitifully. He wasn’t going to admit that he was scared; terrified that this situation would be permanent.

"Good, now how about we join the rest of the team? We haven't eaten in almost ten hours, and I'd kill for a fudge sundae," the older man said.

"If JJ gets two scoops, I want three!" Morgan replied, grinning.

+++

After everyone had finished their treat, Hotch gathered all the empty cups and dirty napkins to throw them away while Prentiss wiped ice cream off JJ's face.

"Are you sure you know you are supposed to eat with your mouth and not the rest of your face?" Emily teased JJ. The little girl had melted ice cream all over her shirt, all around her mouth, on her nose and she had even managed to get some in her blonde locks.

"It's not my fault! It was melting too fast!" JJ complained, not fazed by Emily's actions. She knew she should be feeling self-conscious about the fact that her best friend was cleaning her up, but instead she just leaned closer to Emily, pursing her lips and scrunching her nose as the older agent washed her face and her sticky hands.

Rossi noticed Derek was chuckling at the exchange between the two female agents.

"What are you laughing at, mister?" Dave inquired, arching a brow. "You made just as bad of a mess on the table earlier and Hotch cleaned it up for you."

"It's not the same," Derek disagreed. "The lady didn't make it right! I just licked it and the scoop of ice cream fell off the cone!"

"That was funny!" JJ giggled, remembering the expression on Morgan’s face when it happened.

"And picking it up with your hand and wiping your fingers on your shorts was also the lady's fault?" Rossi questioned the boy.

"What was I supposed to pick it up with then?" Derek asked.

"Is everybody ready to go?" Hotch interrupted when he reached their table. Pocketing his phone, he added, "The jet is ready to take us back home."

JJ and Morgan exchanged an apprehensive look, not sure what that meant for them. They nodded their heads, and pushed themselves off their chair. The two child-size agents walked in front of the adults, leading the way. JJ pushed the elevator call button at least five times ‘to make sure it really was coming.’ When the doors slipped open, JJ grabbed Derek's hand, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze back before stepping in the lift.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Criminal Minds.  
> All mistakes are mine.

As they exited the hospital, the group split after short goodbyes. It had been decided on their way out that Rossi and Reid would drive the black _Dodge Charger_ back, stopping by their hotel to check-out and to pick up everyone’s go-bags on the way to the airstrip. The two men hadn’t complained, relieved to get away from the _children_ for a while. It’s not that they didn’t like kids. They simply weren’t used to be around them much and weren’t exactly sure how to respond when JJ or Morgan talked to them.

The moment they got to the parking lot across the street, Morgan started running, screaming, “Last one to the car is a headless chicken!” completely ignoring Hotch and Emily’s protests.

He sprinted in a straight line between two rows of cars, dodging wing mirrors as he went. A few seconds later, JJ wriggled herself free out of Emily’s arms and took off after him, yelling at him to wait for her.

“It’s not fair, Derek! You didn’t tell me!” JJ cried indignantly, her little feet hitting the pavement hard, trying to catch up with him. Her breath came out in little puffs, bright blue eyes shining, her blonde sandy hair floating behind her.

Morgan grounded to a halt, and turned around panting a little.

“Come on, Jay! We can both get to the SUV before Hotch and Emily, hurry!” He grabbed her hand when she finally joined him, and they darted together between cars, laughing hysterically.

Hotch and Emily exchanged nervous glances, unsure if they were supposed to run after the kids. Technically, his agents were grown adults and they could do as they pleased. The doctor had warned him that they would eventually act like children, but Hotch just wasn’t ready for that kind of behaviour.

“What is going on with them?” the unit chief asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I don’t know, shouldn’t we stop them?” Emily replied, biting the corner of her mouth.

Hearing the squeals of excitement and the incessant streams of giggles reverberating around them, the adults quickly decided not to intervene. Scanning the lot to make sure there were no moving vehicles in their vicinity, Hotch shrugged.

“Maybe running will tire them out,” he said, completely at loss.

Emily only nodded in reply, focused on tracking the little blonde head at all times. They simultaneously picked up their pace, anxious to get the _kids_ inside the safety of the car.

***

JJ was struggling to keep up with Morgan. Her little legs weren’t as fast, and she couldn’t match his strides. He kept pulling her arm, encouraging her, but she couldn’t go on.

“Derek,” she said winded, “I have to stop.”

Morgan looked back at her and released her hand. He slowed down before coming to a stop. JJ put her hands on her knees, trying to regulate her breathing.

“JJ, you can’t quit! We’re almost there.”

JJ raised her head, hair damp with sweat falling in front of her eyes.

“What are we even doing, Derek?” JJ asked bewildered, brushing back loose strands of hair. Her voice was shrilly, and she flinched inwardly at the sound.

Morgan wasn’t sure what she was asking him, but he figured ‘running to the car’ probably wasn’t the answer she was looking for. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, both horrified at their actions.

“We’re acting like children,” Morgan finally admitted. “What is going on with us?”

The realization hit him in the stomach like a ton of bricks. He had blamed his childish behaviour earlier that afternoon on stress and anger, but he couldn’t explain why on Earth he was running in a parking lot, trying to get away from his partner and his boss. Were they turning into actual kids?

“We need to ask Hotch what the doctor told him. Right now,” JJ said, pulling him from his thoughts. She had a cute determined look on her face.

“No! If we do, he’ll get suspicious. He’ll think we can’t do our job or some shit. No, we have to be subtle about it,” Morgan started. JJ rolled her eyes at him.

“Are you serious, Derek? Because we just ran away squealing from him and Emily. He is Aaron Hotchner, profiler extraordinaire! Don’t you think he knows we’re not acting like ourselves?” the blonde asked clearly exasperated. “And if that didn’t give it away, we’re the size of peanuts!”

JJ could feel her temper flaring. Her fists balled of their own accord and she gritted her teeth. Ever since they had been shrunk, the little blonde had a hard time controlling her emotions.

“You are so stupid sometimes, Derek Morgan!” JJ spat at him. “You’re just scared of what Hotch will say.”

Morgan who had started to walk away whipped around and looked at her, eyes wide.

“What did you say to me?” Morgan took a step closer to his friend. JJ was right, of course. He was scared. But being afraid wasn’t an emotion he dealt with well. He often masked it with anger and resentment.

“I said you are stuuuu-pid!” the blonde yelled at him.

Without thinking, the boy pushed JJ hard, sending her skidding across the ground. The little girl shrieked in shock, eyes burning with unshed tears. She had landed hard, and her pride was hurt. She stared at her skinned palms, blinking furiously in an attempt to swallow the tears. She was not going to cry. JJ couldn’t believe Morgan had shoved her like that. She looked up at him, her usually clear blue eyes were veiled with hurt.

“You hurt me,” she whispered so softly he had to strain his ears to hear her. Morgan felt a pang of guilt at her words. He didn’t know what came over him, and of course, it made him angrier. He didn’t like feeling vulnerable.

“Well, you deserved it,” he said in spite of himself.

JJ’s mouth snapped open and she blinked at him a few times before bursting into tears.

“Morgan what the hell did you do that for?” Emily asked, her voice betraying the frustration she felt. Emily Prentiss, queen of the compartmentalization, had a hard time processing the fact that her two best friends had been turned (and acted) into children.

Hotch and Emily had witnessed the whole scene from afar. They had been shocked at the speed at which everything had turned from playful to hurtful.

“She deserved it,” Morgan grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared had his feet, refusing to meet Emily’s eyes.

“I did not!” JJ exclaimed between shuddering breaths. “I just told the truth!” She balled her fists and brought them to her mouth. She chewed on the skin of her fingers to keep herself from crying. JJ was mortified by her reaction, but she couldn’t control it. Tears kept coming down heavily and soon she found herself gasping for air as choking sobs racked her tiny body.

Hotch scooped her up quickly and rubbed her back, “Okay, JJ. Calm down, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

The little girl instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shirt.

“I…I…don’t know…know what’s going on with me,” JJ said as she drew in shaky breaths. It was a pitiful sight, and Morgan’s insides churned up with guilt once more.

“Nothing is wrong with you, sweetie,” Hotch assured her. “You’ve had a long day. Let’s get to the car.”

By the time they reached the SUV, Hotch was beginning to feel a headache coming on. He fumbled for the keys, trying to get JJ to release her tight grip around his neck.

Feeling a phone buzzing in his left back pocket, Hotch hurriedly reached for it and without checking the caller ID, he swiped his thumb across the screen. He cradled his cell against his shoulder, unlocking the car doors at the same time.

“Ho-”

“Derek Morgan! Where the hell have you been?” Garcia screeched into the phone as soon as she heard the line clicking on.

“Garcia, it’s me,” Hotch said distractedly, “JJ, will you get in the car please, and I promise we’ll talk about it then, thank you.”

“Is everything okay, Bossman? Why are you answering Morgan’s phone, is he okay?” the tech asked, worry evident in her voice.

“I can do it myself! Stop watching me!”

“Hotch, was that…JJ? What is going on?” Garcia asked baffled by the snippets of conversation she could hear in the background.

“Yes, we’ve had…a situation. Everyone is fine, Garcia. We’re on our way to the airport now. We should land around 11PM,” Hotch informed her.

“Hotch, ask her to go shopping for clothes,” Emily reminded him as she struggled to keep Morgan from hitting JJ again. “Derek Morgan, I swear to God if you hit her one more time…”

Guessing that Emily’s threats were empty, Morgan stuck his tongue out at her and quickly pressed the release button of JJ’s seatbelt. The boy smirked in satisfaction when the little blonde wailed in frustration and Emily stared at him with wide eyes. Children really were sadistic.

“Oh, Garcia, one more thing,” Hotch said, covering his ear with his hand to block out the screams coming from the car, “I need you to buy some kids clothes before we get back. Everything you think they might need. Size 4 for JJ and size 10 for Morgan.”

“JJ and Morgan?” Garcia repeated suspiciously, “As in my cupcake and my chocolate thunder? Hotch what is going on?”

“Thanks, Garcia,” he ended the call and turned off the phone completely before the tech analyst could say anything else.

***

It was about 6PM when the team had finally been ready to board the jet. The sun was slowly setting, colouring the skies a myriad of pinks. The view was breathtaking and the air was still warm. It was a perfect late summer night.

On the plane, JJ and Morgan sat facing each other. They were both being uncharacteristically quiet. Emily had convinced them earlier – with a promised to stop at the nearest McDonald’s – to apologise and make peace.

They sat calmly, feet dangling in the air, both lost in thoughts. JJ was listening to her iPod, an earbud dangling off, and Morgan had his DS in his hands but he stared at a black screen. The rest of the team was sitting at the other end of the jet, talking in hushed tones. They were no doubt discussing their ‘shrunk colleagues’ predicament.

“What do you think will happen to us?” JJ’s whispers broke the silence.

“I don’t know,” Morgan answered, shaking his head, “but I doubt they’ll let us go home by ourselves. I wouldn’t.”

JJ sucked in her bottom lip and nodded in agreement. Morgan was right. Based on their behaviour that day, they couldn’t be trusted on their own.

“Do you think they’ll call our parents?”

“Nah… Not right away anyway. Whatever happened to us is probably classified,” Morgan said with a shrug. He loved his family, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about them seeing him like this. He hadn’t actually worked out his feelings on the whole situation. So far he just knew he hated it.

JJ leaned back in her seat and resumed kicking her feet nervously. She stared out the little window, thumb in her mouth, biting her finger until it bled.

***

“Shouldn’t we let JJ and Morgan have a say in this?” Reid asked, clearly uncomfortable discussing about their friends when they were sitting a few feet away. “Technically they are still adults, and the doctor said…”

“No offense, Spence, but that doctor had no idea what he was talking about,” Emily scoffed. “You weren’t in the car with them. They are turning into _real_ children faster than he predicted.”

“Prentiss is right. They were behaving as Jack would,” Hotch agreed. “Besides, we’re simply coming up with a plan, Reid. We’ll make sure they are consulted before taking any final decisions.”

The young genius made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and went back to reading his book. He had no intention of continuing this conversation. His knowledge of children was limited at best, and for once in his life, he did not feel equipped to handle the situation.

“Shouldn’t we call their parents and let them deal with their offspring?” Rossi suggested fully knowing it wasn’t a possibility. The thought of having two kids – even though they were his colleagues – running around the BAU was enough to make him consider early retirement for the second time.

“You can’t be serious, David!” Emily hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes wide in outrage. “They got _kiddified_ ,” she raised a hand to stop Reid, knowing he would most likely try to correct her, “on a federal case. They are certainly both traumatized, and you want to ship them back to their families and say what? Here’s your child, welcome back to the 70’s?” Her rant came to an end, and she took a few deep calming breaths. She scrubbed her face with her hands, aware that she had over-reacted. Today couldn’t end soon enough; it had been a nightmare from the start.

“I don’t need to remind any of you that this situation is highly confidential,” Hotch added. “Nobody except this team and the assigned scientists working on the antidote are to know about what happened for now. The media would go wild, and JJ’s and Morgan’s lives could be endangered.”

“So what do you suggest we do?” Rossi said. “Take turns babysitting until they are themselves again? My house isn’t actually childproof, Aaron.”

“Children require a stable, safe and nurturing environment to thrive,” Reid chimed in, his eyes never looking up from his book. “Moving them around from place to place would be detrimental to their emotional health.” He peered over his novel and dragged a hand through his hair.

“Especially JJ’s. She seems to be an extremely anxious child,” he said as an afterthought.

“Why do you say that? You’ve barely been with her since she was shrunk,” Emily asked, suddenly feeling very protective of her best friend.

Reid jerked his head in the little girl’s direction. “She is prone to tears, clinginess and she’s constantly displaying physical signs of anxiety.

Emily shook her head, and retorted, “Anyone would be if they were in her shoes.”

“Morgan is, and he isn’t. I simply think they would benefit from stable living conditions. Yours and Hotch’s place, of course, is best suited to satisfy children’s needs.”

With that said, Reid went once again back to his reading.

“Well, the genius as spoken,” Rossi said, reclining in his seat. He had a half-smile plastered on his face, clearly pleased Reid hadn’t deemed him fit to take care of children.

Hotch nodded tersely as if they had resolved the matter and called the kids.

“JJ, Morgan, could you two come over here for a moment, please? We would like to ask you a few questions.”

Emily watched JJ’s reaction closely. As opposed to Morgan who simply shrugged and jumped to his feet, JJ seemed to shrink back in her seat. She slipped off the couch warily and step toward them slowly with two fingers in her mouth. The tip of her tongue would poke out intermittently and teeth indentations were visible on the digits she was sucking on. This little girl had the looks, but none of her friend’s assurance. Had JJ really been this painfully shy as a child? It was quite a turn from the cheerful kid she had been when the team had been eating ice cream that afternoon.

“Don’t suck on your fingers, sweetie,” Emily said gently, tugging at JJ’s elbow. “You’ll hurt yourself.” She grabbed a tissue from the box next to her to wipe the drool off JJ’s hand.

When she was satisfied the little fingers were dry enough, she spun JJ around and sat her on her lap. To her amazement, JJ didn’t protest at being lifted. She dropped her head back against Emily’s shoulder and stared at Hotch, waiting for him to talk.

“What did ya want to talk to us ‘bout?” Morgan demanded grumpily. “You figured out what you’re gonna do with us?”

“We didn’t decide anything, Derek,” Hotch said, “but we think it would be best if you came to live with me or Emily while we figure out how to change you back into your adult selves.”

Morgan glared at Hotch and then at Emily. He knew it was futile to argue, they were right, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. He groaned a couple of times for good measure and schooled his face into false gravity.

“Hotch, do you have an Xbox?”

“I do,” his boss answered with an uncertain frown.

JJ knew right then that Morgan had thought this through just as she had, and she couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled and escaped through her part lips.

“Do you have a soccer ball and a basketball?” Morgan continued his interrogation.

“Jack does, yes.”

“A’right, I’ll come live with you. But I don’t eat broccoli, I don’t go to bed at 8 o’clock and I decide when I take showers.”

Hotch nodded his approval, relieved it’d been so easy.

“Am I allowed to play with Jack?” Morgan asked Hotch very seriously.

Taken by surprised, the unit chief’s stoic expression faltered for a brief moment.

“Yes, of course.”

“Cool, it’s a deal man,” Morgan said before walking back to his seat. He picked up his Nintendo DS and resumed his game as if nothing had happened.

“What about you, Jayje?” Emily prompted looking down at the girl on her lap. “Do you want to go home with Hotch and Morgan?”

JJ seemed to consider the question for a while, but she knew what she wanted, and she wasn’t going to give in as easily as Morgan.

“I can’t go back to my ‘lace?” she asked around the finger she had stuck back in her mouth.

Hotch and Emily exchanged a look.

“JJ, we don’t think it’s safe for you to stay home alone,” Hotch said using his ‘dad voice’.

“But am an ‘dult. I have my own place.”

“We know, Jayje,” Emily tried to assuage. Though JJ’s voice remained calm, she could feel the tension in her friend’s body. “Your apartment isn’t adapted to…your size.”

“Yours isn’t either,” JJ replied.

“No, you are right, but Hotch’s is. He’s got all sorts of…things to make sure Jack can reach what he needs, right Hotch?” Emily looked at her boss expectantly.

Speechless, the unit chief simply nodded. Never in his life did he think he would have this conversation with his colleagues.

“No, I don’t wanna live wiff boys,” JJ said with finality. “What do I get if I go home with you?” she asked, glancing up at Emily. She had taken her forefinger out of her mouth and her chin glistened with saliva. Instinctively, Emily wiped it with the pad of her thumb.

“The privilege of spending time with Sergio?”

“Oh!” JJ exclaimed, genuinely enchanted by the prospect of it. “I also want bubble bath every night.” Well, there went her resolve. The little blonde knew deep down she _should_ keep arguing to maintain her independence, but she didn’t actually want to be alone and she really did love Sergio. And Emily.

“That can be arranged,” the woman affirmed, nodding.

“Okay, Hotch. I’ll go home with Em’ly.”

They both let out an audible sigh, relieved at how easy it had been to get the children to agree.

Emily sat back in her seat, wrapping an arm around JJ so the girl wouldn’t fall. She thought JJ would go and join Morgan, but to her surprised, she shifted on Emily’s lap so she could rest her head on her chest. Emily stroked her hair and could feel more than she could hear JJ humming, lulling herself to sleep.

Now that the pressing matter had been settled, the adults were only too happy to talk about mundane things and decompress for the remaining of the flight. The conversation was often interrupted by Morgan’s cheerful whooping noises as he beat his game and more often than once, Hotch had to remind the boy to stay in his seat.

Eventually, the jet began its descent where a much frazzled Penelope Garcia waited for them at the airport.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated! xx  
> Feel free to leave ideas of what you would like to see in the next chapters.  
> Tumblr: charmingregal


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. All mistakes are mine.

Garcia sat in her car, awaiting anxiously the arrival of her team. Her fingers drummed on the steering-wheel to the beat of the Meaghan Trainor’s catchy song. She forced herself to hum along to the tune in an attempt to bury the ever growing apprehension she felt.

After her boss had so rudely hung up on her, Garcia had sent her babies on a quest. She had run all of her team members’ names through her multiple tracking programs, and not even two full minutes later, her right monitor beeped wildly. _Ding! Ding! Ding! We have two winners!_ Derek Morgan and Jennifer Jareau had been brought to the Children’s Hospital LA by Federal Agents and had been seen by a Doctor Lambert around 1PM that day. Wait, the children’s?

_‘Maybe it was closer,’_ the spunky blonde had thought.

Quickly scanning their files, Garcia couldn’t find the reason for their admission. Upon medical examination, both agents had been found perfectly healthy.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the analyst brought her cursor up to close the window when something strange caught her eye. _Jennifer Jareau, age: NA, weight: 36lbs, height: 3’49”._

Reopening Morgan’s medical report, she noticed the same strange thing. _Derek Morgan, age: NA, weight: 58lbs, height: 4’2”._

What had they done to her precious gumdrops? Cut their heads and limbs off? For these measurements to be right…

And then Garcia remembered what Hotch had asked her and she remembered the shrilly sound of JJ’s voice. Children clothes, children’s hospital, child-like weights and heights…

“OH MY GOD! This can’t be!” Garcia had screamed at her screens. “Oh. My. God! Oh my god, oh my god!” She rose to her feet and brought her hands to the sides of her head.

“I finally get to be an aunty! Well, kinda,” she had squealed to herself. Garcia checked her watch and calculated mentally. She had four hours to hit the two malls on her way to the airport. She packed her things in a hurry and headed out for the day. The Hotch-man had sent her on a mission, and Garcia was not going to disappoint.

Now, as a result, her backseat was overflowing with shopping bags from various children’s shops. The tech analyst had bought everything, and in different colours, from underwear to winter coats, flip-flops to Ugg boots, and she had got a couple of board games, colouring books and crayons as well as a small army of stuffed animals. Okay, maybe she had gone a little overboard with her purchases, but so what? Who could control themselves when it came to kids clothing and accessories?

Garcia’s phone lit up, alerting her of an incoming text message. They were here! The jet had landed; they were coming to meet her in the parking lot.

***

As the plane neared Quantico, the small talk dwindled to nothing and the tension amongst the adults increased. The events of the day were finally catching up with them. They had been so busy jumping from problems to problems, that they hadn’t had time to properly digest everything. Now that they were almost home, their thoughts wandered back to the questions they had tried to push out of their minds all day. What if they couldn’t safely age Morgan and JJ back? Were they even out of danger? Who knew what was in that serum. How terrified must they be? Would they still remember them come morning? Could you imagine waking up in a stranger’s house with no memory of how you got there? Should they call their parents, would that be the right thing to do?

The seatbelt light came on with its warning ring, pulling everyone out of their thoughts.

Rossi and Reid silently gathered the files and loose reports that were strewn across the small table in front of them.

Emily fastened the belt over herself and JJ, the little blonde was still fast asleep on her lap. Emily had been concerned at first; JJ never used to be able to sleep so deeply on the jet, but the steady rise and fall of her chest and the occasional deep content sighs had calmed her. She probably would have been exhausted too if she had gone through the same ordeal. Hell, Emily was drained and she had only been a somewhat passive observer. She smoothed down JJ’s hair and smiled when she saw the tight grip the little girl had on her blouse.

Hotch ignored the seatbelt warning and walked to Morgan’s seat. The boy had passed out not too long ago. He had his head on one the armrests and his legs were hanging over the other. The chief unit picked up the DS off the floor and awkwardly managed to buckle him up without waking him. They probably had another twenty minutes or so before they landed and were allowed to disembark the jet. Hotch figured he would let Morgan rest. He sat on the seat next to the boy and closed his eyes. _‘This is possibly the calm before the storm,’_ Hotch thought before dozing off.

***

The landing wasn’t as smooth as it could’ve been. Strong summer winds had the jet jostling as the wheels hit the runway.

Emily wrapped her arms instinctively around JJ’s body, keeping her pressed to her as the plane jerked from side to side so she wouldn’t be shaken too much. The loud roar of the engines and the scrapping sounds of the wings flapping as the plane came to a stop however startled JJ awake.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Emily whispered when she felt the girl shift on her lap.

JJ rubbed at her eyes with tiny fists and looked up at Emily. If the frown on her face was any indication, the little blonde was not happy to be awake. She muttered incoherently and let her head fall back on the brunette’s chest, her eyelids fluttering shut.

“We’re here, Jayje,” Emily said rubbing JJ’s back in an attempt to wake her up fully. She unbuckled the belt and sat a little straighter so JJ would be propped up. A head full of blonde hair lolled from side to side, stilling to allow JJ to yawn widely. Her eyes would flutter open only to fall shut again.

For his part, Hotch had much more success waking up Morgan.

“Morgan?” he called softly as he shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, it’s time to get up, buddy.”

The boy blinked a few times and looked around him, seemingly confused as to where he was. He swung his legs over the armrest and sat properly in his seat, fumbling with the seatbelt.

“So this wasn’t a really bad dream, uh?” he said to his boss showing Hotch his small hands.

“I’m afraid it wasn’t, no.”

Morgan shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. It was definitely weird, to be a kid again, but he realised he didn’t really mind it that much. Sure, he _couldn’t wait_ to regain his actual body, but he couldn’t for the hell of himself remember what it was like to _be_ an adult. He surely was just exhausted and everything would feel normal in the morning. He couldn’t be forgetting how to be an adult. That was not possible.

Reid and Rossi were up and ready to head out as soon as the jet had stopped, relieved to finally be home. Go-bags in hands, they bid their colleagues goodnight.

“So, um, I’m going to ride with Rossi,” Reid said awkwardly as he stood in front of Emily. “So…goodnight. Bye JJ.”

The brunette who had been busy brushing wild blonde hair out of JJ’s face and making sure she wouldn’t fall forward, hadn’t realised the young genius had even got up from his seat.

“Oh, alright. You guys aren’t going to wait for us?” Emily asked taken aback by their hastened departure. They usually all headed out at the same time and walked to their cars together.

“My car is in the visitors’ parking lot, we’ll be walking in opposite directions,” Rossi informed her. “Goodnight, Emily. Take good care of little blondie here,” he said with a smile, patting JJ’s head affectionately. JJ grumbled sleepily and her thumb found its way to her mouth again.

Rossi chuckled to himself and walked towards the exit with Reid in tow. They wished both Hotch and Morgan a good night before stepping out of the jet.

***

“It’s too far, Em’ly, I can’t walk this far. I’m tired,” JJ whined as they walked through the airport. She pulled on Emily’s hand, begging her to stop. She wanted Emily to carry her.

“We’re almost there, sweetie, five more minutes,” Emily encouraged patiently.

JJ knew Emily was right, and she wasn’t even _that_ tired, but the hallways were strangely crowded for this late at night, and it made her nervous. What if she got lost? What if Emily and Hotch left without her? _‘This is ridiculous, Jareau,’_ she chided herself. _‘You are an adult for fuck’s sake, get a grip.’_

She kept on walking, clutching Emily’s hand tightly. She stared straight ahead, her eyes never leaving the back of Morgan’s head. She counted her steps, _1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3_. Her hands were getting cold and they were possibly shaking. _‘What is going with you, Jareau?’_

She yelped in surprise when an old lady’s purse bumped into her arm, and to her utter embarrassment, she started crying.

“JJ? Are you okay, what’s wrong?” Emily _finally_ stopped walking, and JJ took the opportunity to hide her face in her thighs and cling to her legs. JJ was vaguely aware that her position was highly inappropriate, but did not pull away.

Hotch and Morgan were walking ahead of them, talking about temporary sleeping arrangements for the night, oblivious to what was happening behind them.

“Hotch, hold on,” Emily called out, struggling to keep both hers and JJ’s bags balanced on her shoulder and refraining the girl from climbing onto her. “I’ll pick you up, Jayje, I promise. Just wait ‘til I pass the bags to Hotch.”

They both whipped around when they heard Emily’s voice.

“JJ, what happened?” Morgan came running and put a comforting arm around his friend. When he realised she wasn’t going to answer him, he stared up at Emily who shook her head in confusion.

“I don’t know. I think she’s just tired,” she said when she saw how worried he looked. “Hotch can you take just one more bag, and I’ll carry her to the car.”

“Yes, of course,” their boss said as he took the bag she was handing him.

“I can carry one too,” Morgan offered helpfully.

“That’d be really great, Derek, thanks.” Emily handed him her bag, and he swung it expertly over his shoulder.

JJ stood close to Emily with one arm raised above her head, waiting to be lifted. She was rocking herself back and forth on the ball of her feet, humming to herself and was sucking on her fingers again.

Both Hotch and Emily thought something was off in the way JJ was acting, but neither said anything. This wasn’t really the time or place. Everyone was exhausted and they all wanted to get home.

Emily bent down and gently pried slimy fingers out of JJ’s mouth while reassuring her she was okay.

“Ready to go?” the brunette asked as she stood up.

The little girl nodded and Emily picked her up with and exaggerated ‘ _ouuff’_. Morgan watched enviously as JJ got lifted. He would never admit it, but he wouldn’t mind being carried by Hotch too. The walk through the airport was long, and he was tired. He cursed his short, skinny legs.

JJ rested her cheek on Emily’s shoulder and wrapped her legs around her. The brunette patted her back and felt the thin fabric of the shirt stick to her skin. With a frown of concern, she pushed the blonde’s hair aside and dragged the back of her hand across the child’s neck. Sure enough, it was covered in cold sweats.

“You feeling okay, sweetie?” Emily asked, as she checked her forehead for a fever. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No,” she mumbled as she shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Emily made a mental note to take JJ’s temperature later when they got home, but she didn’t feel hot. The rubber clacks of Morgan’s flip-flops behind her distracted her from her thoughts and she looked over her shoulder.

“You okay, Derek? Is my bag too heavy for you? She teased him.

“It’s fine,” he lied. Just what exactly was in that bag? It weighed a tonne!

_‘I bet it’s all her girly products,’_ he grinned to himself.

“Let’s go, you are slowing the group,” he said suddenly, grabbing her hand and dragging her forward. “Garcia is waiting!”

***

“Garcia!” Morgan exclaimed when he saw the tech analyst standing by her car awaiting them. To everyone’s astonishment, he dropped Emily’s duffel and ran to her. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. Grown Morgan never would have acted that way, but for his shrunk-self, it was only natural. He liked her very much and he was happy to see her, so he gave her a hug. He didn’t think it any further.

Thankfully, nobody drew attention to his odd behaviour, and Garcia was only too happy and hugged him back fiercely. When Hotch, Emily and JJ finally reached the car, Garcia pulled back, but just enough to put an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey! It’s so good to have you all back safe and sound,” she said brightly. “Where are Reid and Rossi?”

“They headed to the other carpark. Rossi is giving Reid a ride,” Emily answered.

“Oh I see. Aww, is that JJ?” Garcia squealed, clearly excited to see what her little gumdrop looked and sounded like, but JJ didn’t move or acknowledge her friend’s presence. “Is she sleeping?”

“I don’t think she is.” She had just felt, moments earlier, the little blonde’s grip tightened on her shirt. Hotch turned slightly to check on JJ. She was being exceptionally quiet and he was starting to worry.

“JJ?” He tried.

“Aren’t you going to say hi to Pen?” Emily asked her softly, brushing fine blonde hair out of her eyes. JJ looked quickly at Garcia, thumb secured in her mouth, before twisting her body around to hide her face in Emily’s neck.

“Oh, cupcake, are you mad at me?” the blonde asked discomfited.

JJ felt bad about the way she was treating Garcia. She had no idea why she couldn’t just say hello and act _civilized_ , but every time she tried to look at her, her heart would beat faster and she got scared. _‘What if she tries to pick me up? What if Emily leaves me with her? Penelope is my friend! I trust her!’_ This was so frustrating.

“Of course she’s not, Pen. JJ just hasn’t quite been herself since…she woke up on the jet,” Emily tried to excuse JJ’s behaviour.

“She’s been acting a lotta weird,” Morgan mumbled, and Hotch was relieved JJ ignored his comment. He was not sure he would have the patience for another children fight.

"Oh right! You guys must be completely frazzle-fizzed!"

Morgan chuckled at Garcia's expression.

"I'm not tired!" He said proudly, puffing his chest. "I can stay up real late!"

"Oh I bet you can! Well then why don't you help me take out the bags out of my car? I got some clothes for you and my little sunshine."

Emily carefully switched JJ over her other hip and reached in her back pocket for her car keys. She unlocked the doors of her _Prius_ and walked in its direction, just a row down to where Garcia was parked.

"Let's get you in the car, and I'll go back to pick up our things, ok?" She told JJ. The blonde nodded against her clavicle. She felt heavier in her arms, and Emily thought the girl was on the verge of falling back asleep.

"Prentiss wait," Hotch called. "Why don't you borrow Jack's car seat? It'll be safer."

"That would be great, thanks. I was just thinking how-"

"No!" the little girl exploded. Emily wasn’t prepared for the outburst and almost dropped her.

"JJ!"

"No! I don't need a car seat. It’s for babies! I'm a grown adult! I will not sit in a car seat. No. Forget it." A bright flush coloured her cheeks and her eyebrows were knitted into a scowl.

"Wow! She may be small but my cupcake is just as feisty." Morgan nodded, wide-eyed. He was kind of proud of JJ, though he didn’t know why. It probably had to do with the fact that she was yelling at their boss’ face.

JJ’s last screams were still echoing around, and Emily was grateful the parking lot was otherwise empty. _'There's the JJ I know,'_ she thought as she readjusted her grip on the girl.

"It's only for your safety, JJ," Hotch tried to appease the little girl’s flaring temper. "Nobody will know you used it. We can't let you ride without one. It would be reckless of us."

"I don’t care, _Aaron Ho’chner_. I don't want to! Morgan doesn't have to use one! This is so embarrassing. I am _mortificated_!” she yelled dramatically, and the older profilers had to hold back their laughs.

“I'll just walk home! Put me down, Emily!" JJ wriggled and twisted, trying to get the brunette to release her, but to no avail. Emily Prentiss was not letting go.

Arming herself with the little patience she had left, Emily said, “I’m not putting you down, Jayje. You need to calm down. You are not walking home, that’s just ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong with sitting in a car seat when you are not even 4 feet tall! Hotch, please put the seat in.”

Emily offered her boss a tight smile. God how she wished she were home, in her tub with a glass of red wine.

She heard Morgan tell Garcia, “Emily just used her mom voice on JJ!” and she was surprised to learn she had one, a _mom_ voice.

JJ kept trying to free herself, pushing Emily away and kicking her feet, but she knew she had already lost the fight.

“I hate you,” JJ mumbled as she slumped forward, resting her head resentfully against Emily’s shoulder. “You aren’t my bes’ f’iend anymore.”

Emily didn’t answer. She simply bounced JJ gently until she fell asleep.

***

Morgan whistled, drawing the attention of Hotch and Emily.

“How many stores did you ransack, mama? That is a lot of bags!”

The two profilers exchanged a pained look. Of course Garcia couldn’t have just bought the essentials.

Garcia who was taking bags out of her car, straightened up quickly, hitting her head on the car frame.

“Derek, my love, please refrain from calling me ‘mama’ while you are the size of a Chihuahua. I have to say it’s a bit weird.”

“Oh,” Morgan said thinking about it and wondering why it would be weird… “Oh! Oh, right, sorry!” he grinned.

“No worries,” Garcia winked at him.

“Pen, just what did you buy?” Emily asked, somewhat horrified as she noticed the pile of shopping bags accumulating around the tech’s car. She had just settled JJ in her car seat after Hotch made sure it was installed correctly.

“Why, everything my munchkins need! Underwear, pajamas, clothes, outdoor clothes, jackets, shoes, lots of shoes, they make such cute little boots! Toothbrush, hairbrush, hair-ties, ribbons, games, art supplies, teddy bears, nightlights…” the blonde enumerated.

“And how much did that cost, Garcia?” Hotch asked warily.

“Nothing.”

“Emily can you pop your trunk?” Morgan asked, unconcerned about the money situation. This was way more fun. He felt mighty important. “I’ll load JJ’s stuff in for you!”

“Sure, buddy,” the profiler said distractedly, as she searched her pockets for her car remote. Once it was done, she turned her attention back to the bubbly blonde. “What do you mean nothing?” Emily asked confused.

“I used the credit card bossman gave me!” She admitted with a squeak.

“Garcia, that was for emergencies only!” Hotch was appalled. How was he going to justify, to Strauss no less, spending God knew how much on _children_ clothes.

“Well, technically it was an emergency!” Garcia argued. “They didn’t have clothes! Whatever happened to them…it happened on a case, right? The government is bound to pay for whatever they need. But don’t you fret my pretties! They think I bought new laptops for you and Reid!”

Emily gaped at her, speechless.

Bracing himself, Hotch asked, “Garcia, exactly how much did you spend?

“$4 275.87”

“You are giving me back that card. Right now.”

***

“Alright buddy, good job!” Hotch praised as Morgan loaded the last shopping bag in Emily’s _Prius_. They high-fived, both wearing matching grins.

“Girls really need a lot of stuff, uh Hotch?” Morgan said wiping his hands together. Hotch smiled in answer.

“It’s all done,” the chief unit told the two women who were talking animatedly by Hotch’s SUV.

“Great, thanks guys!” Emily said gratefully. She couldn’t wait to get home. “I guess I better go and put mini-Jayje to bed.”

She hugged her friend and waved the guys goodbye.

“Goodnight, Prentiss!” Morgan waved back. He wasn’t tired anymore; in fact he was feeling pretty energetic after all the heavy lifting he had just done.

“Text me when you get home, Em,” Garcia called out as the brunette got into her car.

“Will do!” JJ was still sound asleep, buckled up in her seat. Looking up in her rear-view mirror, Emily saw that Hotch had tucked the little girl with the blanket she kept on her backseat.

Morgan hugged Garcia goodbye and thanked her, after a bit of prompting from Hotch, for the clothes. He promised he would call her the next morning, and the two males watched as the orange car sped out of the lot.

“Can I sit in the front?” Morgan asked, testing his luck. He knew there was no way Hotch would let him, but a guy gotta try.

“No. You cannot.” Hotch opened the door for him, and Morgan climbed in, complaining a bit just for the sake of it.

“Can I watch TV when we get home? I’m not tired.” Morgan asked when they reached the freeway. He was swinging his legs, occasionally hitting the back of Hotch’s seat.

“It’s pretty late, Morgan, everyone will be sleeping.”

“I can watch it real quiet. Or I can just watch it on my phone with my headphones on. Yeah… Hey, where is my phone?”

“We will see,” Hotch only answered half of the questions. He hoped Morgan would fall asleep on the way home.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Emily parked outside of her condo, it was already past midnight. A quick glance in the mirror told her the little blonde was still sleeping. Her head was resting on the side of her seat, lolling a bit forward and her mouth was slightly open to allow soft snores.

Emily took a moment to herself, appreciating the calm and quiet her car offered. Remembering her promise to text Garcia, she took her phone out of her purse and composed her message.

**_‘Just got here. Still sitting in the parking lot ;) all is good. Sleep tight. Em.’_ **

The brunette released her seatbelt and turned around in her seat to look at JJ’s sleeping form. She was trying to come up with the best plan of action when her phone buzzed in her hand.

**_‘Take a picture of my ‘lil cupcake in her pjs! She’s going to look so cute! Btw, our boy genius just sent me a 71 page essay on what happened to them during the case. 71 pages!!! I need to discuss it. Call me when you can! Xx PG.’_ **

Emily laughed and shook her head as she read the text. She typed back quickly,

**_‘Where are the pajamas from?’_ **

**_‘Children’s Place.’_ **

“Ahah!” Emily whispered to herself. She pocketed her phone and got out of the car. She retrieved only the two _Children’s Place_ bags from the trunk; she would bring the others in in the morning. There was no way she could haul all of them and the sleeping child in one go.

She managed to unbuckle and lift JJ out of her car seat without waking her. With the push of a button, the _Prius’_ lights flashed and the car beeped. Satisfied, Emily headed inside with her precious cargo.

***

Unlocking the door to her place proved to be a lot harder than anticipated, and Emily cursed herself as she tried to reach for her keys at the bottom of her purse. When she finally stepped inside, her arms burnt from the efforts. Emily unceremoniously discarded the bags on the floor and walked into her living room where she laid JJ on the couch. The girl rolled on her side to face the back of the sofa and curled up onto herself.

Emily took the pajamas out of their bags and went to the guestroom. She hadn’t had anyone over in…well never; the room sure could use a bit of refreshing. She put the clothes absentmindedly on the dresser and opened the windows. The brunette got clean bedding out of the closet and stripped the bed. She was so focused on her task, she didn’t hear the small footsteps approaching in the hallway.

“Em’ly?”

The woman startled at the sound of her name.

“Oh, Jayje,” she said a little breathlessly. “I didn’t hear you coming. Are you okay?”

The little girl stood in the doorway. Her hair was tousled from sleep and she still had the car seat patterns imprinted on the side of her face. Emily smiled at her.

“Sorry,” she said with a little grin. “I’m good, but I’m a little hungry.” JJ rubbed at her stomach unconsciously.

“Why don’t you get changed while I finish here and then we can have a snack,” Emily suggested, pointing to the pile of clothes as she talked.

“Okay.” JJ nodded and waited for Emily to hand her her pajamas.

The little girl carried the bundle of clothes to the adjacent bathroom and dropped them on the toilet lid.

_‘What are these?’_ JJ thought horrified as she sorted through the sleepwear options she had been given.

There was an abundance of pink and…cupcakes. Oh god! Why, oh why had they let Garcia pick out their outfits? This was all Hotch’s fault!

JJ spread out her choices in front of her on the floor. There was a pink nightgown covered in rainbow cupcakes, a white onesie (with a zipper!) with little elephants on it, a green two-piece with a funny looking pineapple on the top – JJ actually giggled when she saw it – and a pink one with matching shorts. She couldn’t tell if the imprints were supposed to be dogs or what.

She stood there for a while, pondering her options. She had to admit they were all pretty cute…for babies! She was a grown woman for god’s sake! But she did like them…a lot. She just wasn’t going to tell anyone.

“Sweetie, is everything okay in there?” Emily asked, knocking on the door. JJ had been in there long enough for the older profiler to make the bed, get more pillows and changed into more comfortable clothes; black yoga pants and a red tank top.

“Fiiiine!” came the shrilly reply. “Em! Where do I put my clothes? There are ice cream spots on my shirt. But I don’t want you to throw it away!”

“Just bring them out, we’ll wash them.”

The door opened, and the little blonde came out cladded in green pjs. Emily couldn’t help but smile; JJ was simply too adorable. She tried to read what was written on the shirt, but the child held her dirty clothes in a bunch close to her chest, partially covering the drawing.

The profiler was about to follow JJ who was padding down the hallway when she remembered she wanted to check her temperature. The girl seemed well enough, but she decided she would check anyway. Just in case.

“Jayje, can you come back here for a minute? I’d like to take your temperature.”

“Why?” she asked, turning around with a frown of confusion. “I’m feeling fine… Wait, did the doctor said we’d get sick? Am I going to die?” Her blue eyes were wide with panic as she ran back to Emily.

_‘Good job, Prentiss. You probably just freaked her out even more.’_

“You aren’t going to die, sweetie,” Emily reassured her. She knelt down in front of the girl and said, “It’s just that you weren’t really acting like yourself when we were at the airport-”

“Yeah well I’m not exactly myself, am I?” JJ snapped.

“When I picked you up I noticed you were a bit sweaty… I think you may be coming down with something,” Emily finished, choosing to ignore JJ’s comment.

“It wasn’t because I was sick!” JJ blurted out without thinking. “I’m not sick. Nothing’s wrong with me, nothing’s wrong with me.” She started rocking herself on the ball of her feet. Back and forth, back and forth.

“Oh? What was it then?” Emily asked curiously. It didn’t take a profiler to notice how JJ’s whole demeanour changed from open and happy to guarded.

“I…I just got scared is all.” She stared intently at her feet, suddenly uncomfortable with the way Emily stared at her.

“Scared, but why?”

“I don’t want to say it, it’s stupid.” JJ brought her fingers to her mouth and turned her back on her. She wasn’t hungry anymore. Her stomach had quickly become twisted in knots. She wanted to run and hide, or maybe be swallowed whole by the ground.

“You know you can tell me anything, Jayje. I’m never going to make fun of you. If you don’t talk about it I can’t-”

“I don’t want to talk ‘bout it!” she repeated through gritted teeth, before fleeing to the guestroom.

The brunette watched JJ take off, opting to give her a bit of space. She ran a hand through her hair in defeat and rose to her feet. What was going on with JJ? What had she been so afraid of?

***

Emily knocked softly on the doorframe and waited to see if JJ was going to acknowledge her presence before she asked, “May I come in?”

The blonde had climbed in bed and sat in the middle, propped up by a few pillows. Her eyes were slightly red, but there was no tear. She shrugged noncommittally.

“I guess. It’s your house,” she whispered, never making eye contact with Emily.

The brunette walked in and sat on the edge of the mattress, resting a hand on JJ’s short leg.

“Jayje, this is going to be your room for the next few days. If you need to be alone, you just say the word and I’ll be out of your hair.”

The girl seemed to hesitate, but then said, “It’s okay, I don’t mind you being here.”

She didn’t actually want to be alone. Strangely, she wanted Emily to pull her on her lap and hold her. It would be even better if the brunette would play with her hair and sing her lullabies. She knew Emily would do it if she asked her too. Emily was great. Unconsciously, JJ started rocking herself. She used to do it a lot, when she was younger and she felt anxious; it calmed her. It was so confusing, being back in her little child body. Was she reverting back to her old five year-old self? She hoped not. Kindergarten year had been a nightmare. JJ shook her head to rid it of the memories that threatened to resurface.

“You okay, JJ? You kinda zoned out for a minute.”

The little blonde shook her head ‘no,’ but didn’t offer more. It was a step at least. She was admitting something was wrong.

“Do you want to head down to the kitchen for a snack? We could talk about whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

“I’m scared…I was scared, at the airport, that you and Hotch would leave me there,” JJ confessed, her words just above a whisper.

Emily’s heart tightened painfully in her chest. She wanted to pull the frightened child in her arms, but she didn’t want JJ to shut her out if she felt too vulnerable. So instead she schooled her features into a calm expression and said, “You know we would never leave a member of the team behind, Jayje.”

“I didn’t say it was rational,” JJ replied defensively.

The brunette held up her palms in surrender. Apparently this was a touchy subject and it would require kids’ gloves to handle it.

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” JJ closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

“Of course there isn’t, sweetie,” Emily assured her. She remembered JJ repeating the same phrase earlier and she wondered if Reid hadn’t been onto something when he’d mentioned JJ’s apparent anxiety issue.

_‘When is Spencer ever wrong?’_ Emily thought to herself.

She replayed in her head everything that had happened since JJ and Morgan had been changed into kids. JJ clinging to Hotch and then to her, the tears when someone had barely touched her in the airport and her strange behaviour around Garcia. ‘ _I was scared you and Hotch would leave me’_. That was textbook abandonment issue. Had that been a problem for JJ as a child? Would childhood fears resurface now that she was a child again? The more Emily thought about it, the more she realised she really didn’t know much about her best friend’s childhood.

They had both been quiet for a while, lost in thoughts. JJ was back to chewing her fingers anxiously. Drool was starting to dribble onto her chin. She sat there with her head tilted, as if she were waiting for the brunette to say something.

“Did it happen a lot, um, when you were a kid? That you got scared like that?”

JJ stopped biting her fingers and stared up at Emily who held her breath, apprehensive of the blonde’s reaction to her question.

“Uh, uh,” JJ said flatly, nodding her head once for emphasis. She lowered her gaze and resumed her chewing and rocking.

“JJ,” Emily said softly, “did something happen to you when you were younger?”

The child stopped moving, stopped breathing and she was sure her heart even stopped beating. Emily felt her tense and she immediately regretted asking.

But then, the blonde relaxed and said expressionlessly, “I’m going to sleep now. I’m tired.”

“Oh right,” Emily said, taken aback by the abrupt change in JJ’s behaviour. “I’m sorry I kept you up so late,” she apologised, hoping to make JJ feel a little more comfortable.

The girl pushed back the covers with her small feet and laid down, her head turned away from Emily.

The brunette took it as her cue to leave and she rose from the bed.

“Goodnight, Jayje.”

“Night.”

Emily tucked her in and flicked the lamp on the nightstand off, plunging the room in the dark. She smiled despite herself when she heard JJ sucking on her thumb. She was shutting the door behind herself when JJ called her back.

“Em, c-can you stay with me ‘til I _fawl_ aslee’?” she asked shyly.

“Sure, JJ.” Emily was happy to oblige and be able to provide some comfort. She was relieved to see JJ wasn’t freezing her out completely.

The brunette walked back into the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so the soft glow coming from the hallway would light her steps. She sat down next to the little girl and leaned back against the headboard. She closed her eyes and instinctively treaded her fingers through fine blonde hair, gently combing out the tresses. JJ sighed happily and hummed to herself. Paying attention more closely now, Emily recognized the tune. It was a French lullaby she had often heard in Paris.

“Where did you learn that song, JJ?” She whispered softly, as she kept playing with the little girl’s hair.

The blonde turned her head slightly to face her, but she kept her eyes closed.

“My mom used to sing it to me. It’s calming, it calms me,” she confessed sleepily.

Emily remembered hearing the girl sing to herself quite a lot throughout the day. She wondered if the grown-up version of JJ still hummed it to herself when she was stressed. She had never noticed it before. Emily didn’t ask the question though. She simply nodded in the dark.

After a few minutes of silence, JJ whispered, “You must be tired too. I don’t mind if you want to lie down next to me.”

A smirk curled up the corners of Emily’s mouth. The brunette was pretty certain ‘I don’t mind’ translated to ‘I really want you to,’ but JJ had been too self-conscious to say it.

“Thanks, Jayje, I’m pretty beat,” she lied as she stretched out next to the blonde.

JJ scooted closer to Emily and pressed her small body to her side. She then reached for the woman’s hand, and put it on her stomach, moving it in a circle motion. Emily understood the silent request. She rubbed JJ’s belly and sang _‘Au Clair de la Lune’_ until the child fell asleep.

***

By the time Emily completed her night routine and made it to her bed it was a little over 2:30AM. Thanks to spending close to a week out in California, her body was still running on the PST time zone, and as drained as she was, she didn’t think she could sleep right away.

She stretched her arms over her head and folded her legs Indian style under her blankets. She eyed the book that rested atop her dresser and then her laptop on her nightstand. It might not have been her best option to unwind, but her MacBook was at arm’s reach; her decision was made. The profiler flipped the lid and turned her computer on.

The screen lightened on her previous session. Her emails were opened in the top corner of her screen and an article she had started reading was on the other half. Before she had time to refresh her inbox, a message window popped up.

**_‘Aren’t sleeping either? I just finished reading Reid’s file. It’s soooooo detailed, like. My God! How weird it must be for JJ and my D-man!’_ **

**_‘Hey Pen. I know, I can’t imagine. It was so strange to watch JJ fall asleep with her thumb in her mouth.’_ **

**_‘Aw! My little cupcake! :D I’m still waiting on that picture! How is she anyway?’_ **

**_‘Sorry I forgot! I’ll take one in the morning. I don’t really know. She’s been pretty moody. She’s not at all like herself, which I guess is to be expected. I think she’s got some anxiety related issues :/’_ **

**_‘Well yeah, because of her sister…’_ **

**_‘What? … Call me!’_ **

Emily didn’t even wait for Garcia to respond. She closed her MacBook and felt around the sheets, searching for her phone. That damn thing always seemed to move on its own. She was sure she had placed it on her pillow next to her. Oh, there it was! And since when did JJ have a sister? What did she have to do with JJ acting so…unsure of herself? The profiler didn’t remember her ever mentioning any siblings. They rarely talked about their respective family, but JJ had often referred to her mother who was still living in Pennsylvania, and Emily knew her father had passed away a few years ago. Sergio chose that moment to show his face and jumped on her bed. At the same time, her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She clumsily swiped her thumb across the screen as she dragged her cat on her lap.

“Prentiss,” she answered automatically, bringing the phone to her ear.

“What’s up, Sugar Puff?” Garcia’s greeted in a sing-song voice.

“Garcia, what’s the deal with JJ’s sister?”

“What? Why, did JJ say something?”

“No, you did! You just told me her anxiety was because of her sister. A sister I have never heard of before! So, what’s the story?” Emily felt like she was prying into JJ’s personally life, but she reasoned if she was going to be responsible of tiny-JJ, she needed to know what was going on in order to keep her safe and happy.

“Uh…” Garcia sounded a bit deflated. The brunette heard what she thought was Garcia clacking a pen between her teeth.

“Well, her sister committed suicide when JJ was really young. I thought you knew?”

“I didn’t, no. That’s the reason I asked you to call me.”

“Didn’t you read Spencer’s report? Page 48,” Garcia asked, clearly confused about where this whole conversation was going.

Confusion was also on the top of the list of emotions Emily was currently feeling, followed closely by frustration. What? What did Reid have to do with anything? This conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

“Garcia, when would I have had time to read his file? When did _he_ get the time to write all of that?” Emily asked, sounding vaguely impressed, despite her growing irritation.

“Well, it was full of graphs and weird looking pie-charts. He could have used more colours… Anyway, he said she suffered from an early onset of bipolar combined with generalized anxiety? She would tell JJ it was dangerous to go outside or go to school, things like that. Must have been pretty intense.”

“Shit.” Emily was speechless.

“I know…”

“No, I mean isn’t that awfully personal to go spreading it around? What was Reid thinking including this in his report? Where did he even _get_ that information?” the brunette asked, scandalized by what the young genius had done. “Garcia, to whom did he send this to?”

Emily could hear the fast clicking sound of keys being stroked on a keyboard.

“Um… Only the team and that doctor in L.A,” she told the profiler, trying to keep the wince out of her voice.

“ _Only_?! Delete these emails! Block the file. Do whatever you want, but I don’t want anyone to read this! And make sure he doesn’t send it to anyone else! Jesus,” Emily said exasperatedly. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. She suddenly felt really tired. She knew Reid probably hadn’t meant any harm. He could be a bit clueless when it came to personal boundaries, but that was way out of line!

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it. Just calm down! You know how he is, he doesn’t think like the rest of us,” the tech tried to defend Reid’s actions, but now that she thought about it, she definitely understood why Emily was so angry.

***

_JJ didn’t know where she was. She was standing in the middle of a dark room with nowhere to hide. A single bare bulb hung from the ceiling, bathing the place in an eerie yellow light. Nathaniel Cook sat on a kitchen chair right in front of her; a disturbing grin split his face in half. He had a gun pointed at her chest. JJ reached for her weapon, but found her holster empty. The UnSub had her gun. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her brain was screaming at her to get the hell out of there. Run! Hide! But she was paralysed with fear. Cook laughed maniacally and cocked the hammer of the gun._

_“Goodbye, Agent Jareau! See you in Wonderland…”_

_He pulled the trigger. The shot exploded in her ears; a loud bang that rang out long after the round was fired. JJ was propelled backwards and she fell. And fell. And fell down the rabbit hole._

_She landed with a comical bounce in the middle of her bed, back in her parents’ house. She was in her room; her pink and purple bedroom, with white unicorns on the drapes and her bedspread. She got up and looked down at herself. Tiny hands, small feet, she was five again. She was wearing a white pinafore over a simple blue dress and black patent leather shoes._

_“Jenny! Jenny! Come here, I want to show you something!” She heard someone call. They sounded far away. Were they outside?_

_“Ross? Is that you?” JJ called back, heading into the hallway. She walked passed her parents’ bedroom, passed the bathroom and stopped in front of her sister’s room. Her name, Rosaline, was spelled out in glittering letters._

_With a trembling hand, JJ pushed the door open and was blinded by a white light. She raised a hand over her eyes and screwed them shut tight to block out the sudden brightness._

_“Jenny, what are you doing outside? It’s not safe! They’ll take you away!”_

_At the sound of her sister’s voice, JJ’s eyes snapped opened. She was standing in the middle of their backyard on a hot summer day. The wind pushed the swings, and JJ could hear the familiar creak of their rusty chains as they swung back and forth._

_“Come back in, Jenny!” Rosaline yelled panicked, calling from her bedroom window._

_JJ looked around her to see what her sister was talking about. She couldn’t see anyone or anything. Why was Ross so scared?_

_“Jennifer Alice Jareau!” her sister kept calling, “Get back inside! What is wrong with you? Are you crazy? They are coming for you, Jenny. You’ll be lost forever!”_

_Alarmed, JJ ran to the back porch and tried to get in the house, but the door was locked. She knocked frantically, begging Rosaline and her parents to let her inside._

_“Let me in! The door is lock, Ross, let me in! Mommy, daddy! Help!”_

_“It’s too late, Jenny. He’s already here,” Rosaline whispered directly in her ear. “There. Behind you!”_

_Something snatched her from behind._

“No!” JJ jolted awake, her heart hammering against her ribcage and her blood pounding in her ears. She glanced around the room anxiously. Shadows danced on the walls, creeping closer and closer. She fought with the sheets, trying to free herself. They were sticking to her, restraining her, suffocating her. She had to get away from them, from here. _‘They are coming for you, Jenny. You’ll be lost. Forever.’_

Someone was coming for her, but she didn’t know who or why. They were probably lurking in the darkness, watching, waiting. Emily, she had to find Emily. She would keep her safe. JJ tumbled out of bed, disoriented, and landed on the floor with a thud. She scurried to her feet and made a run for the door.

“Emily! Emily!”

JJ dashed down the hall as fast as her small legs would carry her. She didn’t need to look back to know something was chasing her.

***

“There!” Garcia said on the other line of the phone, “I just emailed you my cute kitten playlist! If the _adorbs_ fluffiness doesn’t take your mind off everything, I don’t know what will!”

Emily laughed, shaking her head in amusement. She pushed the sheets back and cradled her phone between her cheek and shoulder, before slipping out of bed.

“Oh I don’t know, Pen. Right now a glass of red and my old friend Vonnegut sound like heaven to me.”

“Oh wine! What was the name of that good one we had last week? I’ve been trying to find it!”

“The pinot noir?” Emily asked casually as she carried her laptop to a small desk and grabbed her battered copy of _Mother Night_. “I’d have to check the label. I still have the bottle downstairs. I think it was Flowers.”

“What a romantic name! I can’t believe I didn’t remember it!” the tech exclaimed. “Oh shit!”

Emily could hear something sputtering in the background.

“Garcia, what are you doing?” The profiler plopped back down into bed with her book. Sergio roused and eyed Emily in mild irritation. She stretched her leg under the sheets and wiggled her toes just to taunt him.

“I was making coffee, but I totally forgot to put water in the machine! I just poured it in and the water exploded everywhere!”

Emily chuckled, “I think that’s a sign, Pen. No more coffee for you. How do you expect to ever go to sleep?”

“I don’t! We’re off tomorrow! I found – well Kevin found this new game and it’s amazing! We’re going to play all night,” Garcia said excitedly. Emily could still hear her bustle around her kitchen.

“Well in that case I’ll let you-”

“Emily!” Her bedroom door was flung opened and it hit the wall with a loud bang. The black cat hissed at the intruder and jumped off the bed to hide under it.

“Garcia I have to go.” She ended the conversation and let her phone fall next to her.

JJ had already climbed on her bed and was rushing toward her. Before the brunette realised what was happening, arms were thrown around her neck and a small body collided with her own.

“JJ?”

“They’re here! Someone is coming for me!” she shrieked, tightening her hold on the brunette.

Emily concluded JJ had just woken up from a bad dream, and she was still trapped in its remnants. She could feel the blonde’s heart beating wildly against her chest. Her small body was shaking with the adrenaline from her nightmare and her breathing was coming out in short, ragged gasps.

“JJ, hey, hey, can you look at me?” Emily asked gently as she loosened the child’s grip on her neck. “Sweetie, look at me, you’re safe. There’s no one here.”

Wide blue eyes darted around the room, searching for her shadowy pursuers. Emily noted the flushed round cheeks, the thin sheen of sweat coating her forehead and the damped blonde hair. She held the child close to her and stroked her back soothingly, murmuring reassurances.

“It was just a bad dream, Jayje,” the brunette whispered. “You’re safe.”

“No, no, they’re… I saw…”

“Shhh, I promise you, nobody is here to hurt you.”

Gradually, the last memories of her nightmare faded. Her heart slowed and her breathing deepened. Her eyelids grew heavy and her hold on Emily’s shirt weakened. JJ was about to give into sleep, feeling protected, cradled in the brunette’s arms, when she was gently shaken awake.

“Mhm?” She felt Emily tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and she opened her eyes slowly.

“How about we get you changed into dry pajamas, before going back to sleep?” Emily asked calmly, readjusting her hold on the girl’s body. She didn’t know if she should bring up what had just happened, or if it would only serve to distress JJ more.

The blonde nodded, but clung to her, making it clear that she had no intention of letting Emily put her down. Swinging the child on her hip, Emily carried her to the guest bathroom and sat her down on the marble counter by the sink.

“Do you want to talk about your dream?” She asked as she retrieved a cloth from the towel cabinet behind her and wet it with cold water.

“The mean man was there.” JJ swung her legs in the air, her heels hitting the cupboard door rhythmically.

“The mean man?” the profiler asked, brushing blonde hair to the side and dabbing JJ’s neck with the cool compress.

JJ nodded, her forehead resting on Emily’s. The cloth felt good against her skin and she sighed contentedly.

“Cook? He shot me, and then I was back at my parents’ house and my sister was there.”

Emily didn’t say anything for a while. She washed JJ’s back, rinsed the cloth and washed her face.

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” she finally said as she grabbed a pair of pajamas JJ had left on the floor earlier.

“Rosaline.” The little girl raised her arms up so Emily could help her out of her shirt, before pulling the fresh one on. “She died when I was a kid... the first time.”

“I’m sorry, Jayje,” Emily said honestly.

“It’s ‘kay. She’s better where she is now.”

It was odd to hear such a wise thing coming out of such a small child.

Emily helped her down on her feet, and JJ followed her out and down the hall, holding her hand.

“How do you feel about sleeping in my bed with me tonight?”

“Okay,” JJ readily accepted, relieved she wouldn’t have to go back to her room alone. “Can I cuddle with Sergio?”

She sounded so excited at the prospect of kitty cuddles, Emily had to bite her lip not to laugh.

“You bet!”

When they got to the master bedroom, the cat was already waiting for them, sprawled in the middle of the bed. The brunette waited for JJ to climb on the bed before turning the main light off. Once they were both settled with Sergio trapped between their bodies, Emily switched off the lamp on her nightstand.

“Night Em’ly, night Sergio.”

“Goodnight, Jayje.”

It was silent for a beat, and then.

“You didn’t tell Sergie goodnight.”

“His name is Sergio. Goodnight Sergio.”

***

The next morning, JJ woke up to a beam of sunlight tickling her nose. She scrunched up her face to suppress the threatening sneeze and rubbed her eyes lazily.

JJ rolled onto her side and came face to face with Sergio. The black cat stared back at her unamused to be awoken this early. The blonde was captivated by the way his golden eyes reflected the light. When she held up her hand to block out the sun, his pupils were big and round, and when she allowed the light to pass between her fingers, they were narrow lines and the dull yellow of his irises turned into a bright gold with flecks of green.

Soon enough, Sergio got tired of the girl’s light tricks and he went back to sleep, head tucked between his paws.

“You’re no fun,” she whispered harshly, scolding the cat.

JJ sat in bed and contemplated what to do next. She brought her knees up and rested her elbows on them. Emily was still sound asleep, her face buried into her pillow. She didn’t want to wake her up, but JJ was hungry. Her stomach growled, and she decided she would just grab a granola bar and watch TV in the living room until Emily woke up.

She clambered out of bed and tiptoed softly across the hardwood floor to the door. She walked passed the bathroom and circled back, deciding she really had to go.

In the kitchen, she opened the pantry door and pushed a chair across the room so she could reach the cereal bars. As she climbed on the chair though, JJ spotted the Keurig coffee maker and changed her mind. Damn, she could kill for a cup of coffee!

She jumped off the chair and pushed it once more across the room, close to the kitchen sink. Emily had a fancy metallic Keurig cup rack that spun around when pushed. JJ decided that once she was back to her normal self, she would get one like that too for her apartment.

She twirled the rack around a couple of times before deciding on the little burgundy label that read _‘espresso intenso._ ’ She could really use a pick me up! Turning into a child was seriously tiring.

As her coffee brewed, she walked over to the fridge to grab the milk. Why was everything so high up? With an exaggerated sigh, she dragged a stool to the fridge and climbed up to get the jug. As she turned around to place it on the counter before she hopped off, a little ‘secret’ compartment caught JJ’s eye.

_‘Oh right! Her special chocolate stash!’_

JJ giggled as she slid the little door open and grabbed a couple of refined European chocolate bars. This was going to be the best breakfast of the history!

She jumped off just as the Keurig machine beeped. Regaining her balance, JJ set the milk on the floor and padded to the other side of the kitchen. She stretched her arm above her head and grabbed the handle of the mug, careful not to spill the hot liquid.

A few minutes later, the blonde was walking slowly to the living room, coffee in one hand and chocolate in the other. As she set her cup on the table in front of the couch, coffee sloshed over the side and dripped on her hand.

“Ow! That’s hot!” she hissed through her teeth. JJ blew on her hand and glared at the offending coffee cup.

The little girl turned the TV on and scrolled down the menu, looking for something to watch. Apparently there wasn’t really anything interesting on, on a Saturday at 7 in the morning. She didn’t want to watch the news and _SpongeBob_ wasn’t on. Lame!

She knew Emily had Netflix though, and after a few minutes of hitting random buttons on the remote, she was able to pick something she liked.

***

Emily was roused from her dream by a paw hit to her head. Sergio had decided to play with a strand of her hair, swatting at it with his claws retracted.

Grumbling her annoyance, she shooed her cat off the bed and slowly sat up. She pressed her palms to her eyes and then ran her fingers through her hair as she yawned.

After a few seconds of sitting still and staring into nothing, she realised the little blonde wasn’t in bed. Stealing a look at the clock she saw it was only 9:30AM. JJ couldn’t have been up for too long. They had gone to bed late, and she knew how much her friend liked (and needed) her sleep.

Now that she was paying attention, she could hear the soft sound of voices coming from downstairs. She grabbed her book from the nightstand and headed to the living room, thinking she would finally get a peaceful morning.

The minute Emily walked in her living room, the idea of a relaxing weekend flew right out the window. JJ was upside down on the sofa; her head on the cushion with her legs draped over the back of her couch, watching cartoons and laughing uncontrollably, at what, Emily couldn’t tell.

The brunette gasped as she took in the scene. _SpongeBob_ was on her flat screen doing ridiculous things, empty coffee mugs littered the table and chocolate wrappings were strewed on the floor in front of the couch. What the hell had happened in there?

“JJ, how long have you been up?” was the only thing the brunette managed to say.

Startled by the brunette’s entrance, JJ lost her balance and fell in a heap on the couch.

“Oopsie!” JJ giggled, covering her mouth with her small hands.

Emily stared at her with wide eyes, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief. The little girl didn’t seem to notice the look of consternation on the brunette’s face; her attention went back to the yellow sponge on the screen.

“How many coffees did you drink?” the profiler asked, struggling to keep the shock out of her voice.

“I don’t know,” JJ answered, now rolling around on the couch. “Maybe five. The last one was for you but you took too long to get up! More for me!”

“No, no more for you.” It came out harsher than she intended and the profiler instantly felt bad.

She stopped squirming long enough to look at Emily, and her brow drew in confusion when she finally took in the brunette’s expression. Emily gaped at her, her mouth open. She had a hand bunched in her hair and the other rested on her hip.

Suddenly feeling like she had done something wrong, JJ quickly got off the couch and wrung her hands anxiously together. Emily noticed the smudges of chocolate on the corners of her mouth and she rubbed her forehead to curb the incoming headache. Just how long had JJ been awake?

_‘Is this how five year-olds behave?’_ thought Emily. _‘I can’t leave her alone she could be a danger to herself.’_

“I-I c-can make you another cup,” JJ offered pitifully. “I’m s-sorry.”

Hearing the change in JJ’s tone, Emily looked up and she saw JJ’s blue eyes brimming with tears. She felt a strong urge to protect her.

“JJ, it’s not about you drinking my coffee. Sweetie, please don’t cry.” But apparently that was the wrong thing to say because the little girl burst into tears.

“Please, don’t be mad, Em’ly,” JJ wailed through her sobs, hiding her face behind her tiny fists.

“Aw, sweetie, I’m not mad, I’m not mad, I promise.” The brunette went to her and put a comforting hand on her back. “It’s just… JJ that was a lot of caffeine for such a small body, you have to be careful.”

The blonde nodded her understanding, but the tears didn’t stop.

Emily muted the TV and pulled JJ back towards the couch with her. She sat with the child on her lap, humming softly an Italian lullaby. She thought JJ would curl up on herself, but instead she stretched out, her back pressed to Emily’s front, her head thrown back on her shoulder.

A few minutes past, and JJ’s sobs turned to sniffles, only to turn back into sobs again.

“Jayje, what’s wrong?” she asked softly, concern showing in her voice.

“I don’t feel good,” JJ admitted, furiously wiping at the tears that kept rolling down her face. The ridiculous amount of coffee and chocolate she had ingested, mixed with her little couch acrobatics had indeed turned her stomach inside out.

_‘Please don’t let her vomit on my couch.’_

If it happened, the brunette would probably cry.

Emily put a hand on her small tummy, hoping the warmth would help soothe the pain and petted her hair with the other. The little whimpers gradually quieted, and they both dozed into a light sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I had written most of it, and then real life got really shitty and my muse decided to abandon me. I’m really sorry if this chapter feels choppy or is not as good (I mean I know it’s not). Apparently I cannot for the life of me grasp Hotch’s and Morgan’s voices. It’s way easier with Emily and JJ (and from the reviews I got, you guys enjoy them the most), so this story might shift the focus a little more onto the two ladies if that’s what you want. Let me know!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters. I apologise for any mistakes.

Much to Hotch’s dismay, Morgan spent the entire fifteen minutes of the car ride alternating between asking random questions about everything and requesting he changed radio stations whenever his _beat_ wasn’t on.

“So, um, Hotch?” Morgan said tentatively as they unloaded the SUV.

“Yes?”

“What are we gonna tell Jack and Jessica? Are we saying I’m Morgan from work or what?” He sounded nervous.

“We just tell them you are Derek who’s going to spend some time with us. They don’t need to know anything more,” Hotch answered with a reassuring smile as he shut the trunk with a loud clank.

Morgan breathed out a sigh, clearly relieved. He didn’t really want people to know what had happened to him. For some unknown reason, he was ashamed of his current situation, especially since his 8 year-old-self seemed to take over his adult-self more often than he cared to admit. It was such a weird feeling. He didn’t like to think about it much.

Hotch and the boy walked up the path that led to the porch, both carrying more bags than they could. The unit chief was about to drop everything to unlock the front door when it swung open, revealing a blonde woman in her mid-thirties.

“Aaron! I thought I had heard…” Jessica cut herself off when she noticed the little boy standing next to him. “Oh hello! Who’s this charming young man?”

“Jessica, this is Derek. He’s going to stay with us for a little while.”

“Hi Derek, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Same, Ma’am,” Morgan mumbled, looking at his feet shyly.

“Well come on in, both of you! Here, let me take some bags off you!” Jessica exclaimed warmly, beaconing them inside. She took the majority of Morgan’s load and shuffled back into the house.

The boy murmured his thanks and followed her inside. The hallway gave into the living room. Morgan stopped next to the couch and stood there, not really sure what to do with himself. The house was plunged in darkness, except for the two lamps on each side of the couch.

Hotch told her she could put everything down on the coffee table; they’d deal with everything in the morning.

“Alright, if you don’t need me anymore, Aaron, I’ll just head home. Everything went well with Jack at camp today,” Jessica informed him as she gathered her things.

“It’s really late, Jess. Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night?” Hotch offered.

“No, I’m leaving tomorrow morning. Weekend in New Work, remember? I still need to pack.”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry, with everything… I completely forgot. I hope you have a nice time, you know to call me if you need anything.”

“You don’t need me to babysit this weekend, do you?”

Hotch chuckled at the look of apprehension on his sister-in-law’s face. She would cancel her trip in a heartbeat if he needed her. He knew it, and for that he’d be forever grateful.

“No, I don’t. I’m off for the weekend,” he assured her as he walked her to the door.

“Great! Okay, well I’ll be back in time to pick up Jack from camp on Monday. Take care, Aaron,” she said kissing him on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Jess. And thank you again.” Hotch stood out on the porch until she was safely inside her car, before he went back in, locking the door behind him.

***

When he came back into the living room, Hotch found Morgan sitting quietly on the couch, digging through the shopping bags with a look of curiosity mixed with horror painted on his face.

“Garcia doesn’t share your tastes in fashion?” the unit chief asked, amused.

“Nope, definitely not! I refuse to wear this,” Morgan said with disdain as he pulled out a blue and white stripped pajama with a dinosaur riding a bicycle on the shirt.

“Or this.” He held out another pair with soccer ball and basketball prints on the bottom and ‘All Star Dude’ written on the top.

“They aren’t that bad,” Hotch said with a rare side-smirk.

“Yeah well you wear them then. I’ll sleep naked.”

“Oh no, not on my couch you won’t! I’ll pull out the sofa and make the bed. You can go change in the bathroom right next to the kitchen,” Hotch instructed, pointing behind him at the dark hallway.

“Al’ight,” Morgan grumbled, snatching a pair of pajamas at random. At this point, what he wore didn’t really matter. ‘ _I’ve lost my dignity along with my badge and my gun,_ ’ he thought bitterly.

He spotted the bathroom door and made a run for it, turning the light on and closing the door behind him as fast as he could. He was not scared of the dark. _Oh, hell_ _no_.

Morgan put his pajamas on. Not knowing what to do with his dirty clothes and seeing no hamper, he bunched them into a ball and hid them behind the toilet. He wandered back into the living room, happy to see Hotch had turned the lights on in the kitchen.

“Do you want anything before you go to bed, Derek?” Hotch asked as he sorted through his mail.

“Uh, just a glass of water, thanks.”

The unit chief opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle.

“Here you go, buddy.”

“Thanks, so, can I watch TV? I’m really not tired!”

Hotch considered his request. It was pretty late, and he would never let Jack watch TV at this hour, but Morgan wasn’t his son and he was technically an adult. He decided to let him watch with the volume on low. He figured the boy would fall asleep within minutes anyway. The day’s events had taken a toll on everyone, and sure enough Morgan would be exhausted.

Hotch flicked the TV on and handed Morgan the remote. The boy had climbed up in bed and gathered pillows and blankets to form sort of a nest in the middle of the mattress.

“Don’t stay up too late, okay?” Hotch advised him

“Mhm…” Morgan was already surfing channels, looking for something _good_ to watch.

His boss wished him goodnight and awkwardly patted him on the head before retreating to his room.

***

He walked up the stairs with a last look toward the living room to make sure Morgan was fine. Hotch went to Jack’s room first to check up on him. He pushed the door quietly and slipped in, avoiding expertly the floorboards that would creak under his weight. The nightlight glowed bright enough to allow him to see his son was asleep peacefully. Jack was lying on his stomach with an arm dangling off the side of the bed. He’d kicked his blankets at his feet, and his shirt had risen up, exposing most of his back. Hotch covered him up with a thin blanket and bent down to kiss him on the side of his head.

Only once he was in his own room, did Hotch allow the peculiar events of the day to finally hit him. He sat on the edge of his bed with his face in his hands and his shoulders slumped forward. Everything felt so surreal. Was Morgan really downstairs, in his living room, looking like an 8 year-old boy and watching _The Power Rangers_? How was he going to tell Strauss? He reached for his phone and opened up the email application. A new message from Reid sat in his inbox, but he didn’t click on it right away. He started a draft addressed to Erin Strauss, requesting a meeting he already dreaded with her first thing in the morning, the following Monday. He would ask for his team to be put on leave for a week, giving them time to figure out the ‘children’ situation. He was no scientist, but he knew that there was no way the antidote would be ready and approved in such a short amount of time. What would they do with JJ and Morgan once they’d be sent out of state on new cases? They couldn’t just leave them with a babysitter, could they? And what was going on with JJ? He had noticed she wasn’t behaving like herself and it worried him. Morgan seemed to be doing relatively well under the circumstances. He wondered briefly how Emily was fairing with her new found responsibilities. He didn’t doubt she would take great care of JJ. He had seen her interact with children throughout many cases, and with the ease she’d comforted the little blonde during the day, there was no doubt. She had a natural mother instinct. Hotch thought of sending her a text message, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to wake her up if by some miracle Emily was already asleep.

Hotch drew back the sheets and twisted his body so his back was now resting against the headboard. Still on his phone, he pulled up Reid’s email and loaded the attached file. His eyes grew slightly in surprise when he realised what it was and how many pages the document contained. Well, he had found his _light_ bedtime reading; he just needed a bigger screen. He got up and took his iPad out of his go-bag.

***

Morgan lay atop a pile of pillows and blankets with his head propped up in his hand, a _Power Rangers_ combat scene playing on the TV. He watched intently, rapt by the action and the swirl of vibrant colours filling the screen. This show was so great! He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen this before. He definitely wanted to be the red ninja, the leader. He thought of how cool it would be to have super powers. He would have transformed earlier and he saved JJ from the crazy UnSub. It was his fault if Nathaniel Cook had shot her with the de-aging serum. He had _let_ her go in first.

He was drifting off, replaying over and over what had happened in Cook’s house in his head, when the fridge whirred to life, jolting him out of his sleepy reverie.

It was then, suddenly aware of all the little noises and every dancing shadow surrounding him, that Morgan realised he was the only one downstairs and he didn’t like it at all.

Despite de television casting lights across the room and providing background noises, Morgan grew uneasy. He imagined monsters lurking in the dark, behind the couch, under the bed. He quickly pulled a blanket over his head and listened carefully. There! He could hear them: sharp claws clicking across the tiled floor of the kitchen, a low feral growl, and what was that? He couldn’t tell, but it was probably planning on killing him. How was he going to fight off a horde of mutant animals? He didn’t even have his gun anymore! His heart raced in his chest. He was going to have to call Hotch for help. He was scared! Wait, no. He was not scared! He was a grown man for fuck’s sake! Derek Morgan wasn’t afraid of wild demonic cats. They didn’t even exist. At least he thought they didn’t… He would have to ask Reid. JJ! Did she know monsters weren’t real? He had to protect her and he wouldn’t fail this time.

Morgan pushed the blanket away (damn, it was hot under there) and sat straight up, head held up high. He was on a new mission now.

He tiptoed stealthily across the room and quietly crept up the stairs in search of Hotch’s room. His boss was probably asleep by now. Morgan had a plan. He would find his cellphone, call Emily and ask to speak to JJ and make sure she knew monsters weren’t going to hurt her. He would have called from the landline downstairs, but he didn’t know Emily’s number by heart.

The first room on his left was Jack’s. Morgan could tell from the light emanating from the cracked door. He could see stars glowing on the ceiling; Hotch would never ever put stars in his room like that. It wasn’t very _bossman-like._ Morgan almost chuckled loudly at the thought.

The next one was the bathroom. It wasn’t hard to guess, the door was opened.

There was only one room left at the end of the hall with the door shut all the way. It had to be this one.

Morgan turned the knob as slowly as he could, not wanting to make any noise that would wake his boss. Once he heard the telltale click, he pushed it and entered _incognito_. Or so he thought.

“Derek?”

Morgan froze on the spot, his heart leaping in his throat. He was so surprised he could only release a strangled gasp when he saw Hotch sitting in bed, the light from the tablet resting on his knees illuminating his face.

***

The creak of the stairs alerted Hotch that Morgan was on his way up. He looked up from his screen and listened to the light footsteps threading down the hallway. It was evident, to trained father’s ears, that the boy was doing his best not to be as quiet as he could. The steps stopped right outside his room, and he waited for the upcoming knock. To his surprise, his door slid open and Morgan tiptoed inside.

“Derek?”

Morgan gasped, seemingly shocked to have been caught, and Hotch had to bite the inside of his cheeks not to burst out laughing at the ‘deer caught in headlights’ look the boy sported.

“I-I-I thought you were sleeping!” Morgan stuttered, flustered.

“And I thought you were asleep,” Hotch replied, amusement clear in his voice. “Do you need anything?” He switched the lamp by his bed on.

The boy clasped his hands behind his back and tapped his left foot a couple of times before he said, “I need to call JJ and I don’t know Emily’s phone number. Can I please have my phone back, please?”

He figured Hotch couldn’t refuse such a polite request.

“Why do you need to call JJ so late? She’s probably already sleeping, buddy.”

God, his boss was so nosy. Whatever he had to tell JJ was none of his business. He probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

“I just want to make sure she’s okay and I want to say sorry I got her shrunk is all.” It wasn’t really a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. Hotch didn’t need to know about the imaginary feral cats prowling downstairs.

“It’s not your fault Cook got her, Morgan,” Hotch said concerned, seeing the guilt swirling in deep brown eyes. “You guys just did your job and got…unlucky. JJ doesn’t blame you I can assure you.”

“But can I call her?” he asked stubbornly, not liking where this conversation was going and determined to avoid any touchy-feely talks – those were for girls.

“Not tonight, buddy. You can call her first thing in the morning, but I’m pretty sure she’s already in bed right now. She’s had a long exhausting day.”

“What if she’s scared of monsters?”

“I’m sure Emily will protect her. You know Prentiss just as well as I do.”

Morgan broke into a yawn and rubbed his eyes as he nodded in answer.

***

The next morning, Jack Hotchner woke up, as usual, ready to meet the day. As soon as his eyes popped open, he sat straight up. Without missing a beat, he pushed the covers off, swinging his little legs over the edge of the bed. The blond boy stretched his arms over his head and wiggled his toes, a bright smile painted on his face.

Much like his father, Jack was a creature of habits. He had his own little morning routine. He would visit the bathroom first to do his business and climb on his little stool so he could wash his hands and brush his hair. Smiling at his reflection, he’d jump off and peak into his daddy’s room to make sure Hotch was home and safe, before going down to the living room and watch TV for about an hour.

That morning though, the boy halted at the bottom of the stairs, unsure of what to do. The lump of blankets on the pull-out couch moved and grunted, and Jack’s heart leapt in his chest.

“Daddy! Daddy!” he yelled, frozen on the spot. Nobody but his father was supposed to be in the house. His aunty Jessica was away on vacation for the weekend.

Morgan startled at the cries. Trying to untangle himself from the sheets, he lost his balance and landed on the floor with a hard thud.

“Ow! Dammit!” The shrunken agent finally pulled the blanket off himself and rubbed his head confused.

“Oh my! Are you okay?” Jack asked as soon as he realised it wasn’t a bad guy sleeping on his couch but just a little boy.

“Yeah, fine, fine.”

“Jack, what’s going on? Everything okay?” Hotch asked as he stumbled down the stairs, sleep written all over his face. He yawned tiredly and raked a hand through his hair, his gaze moving from boy to boy, waiting for either of them to answer.

Morgan was staring at his boss with a shock expression, unaccustomed to see him looking so…well, unprofessional. Hotch was wearing loose marine pajama pants and a too large white t-shirt. His face was framed with black rim glasses, giving him a nerdy look.

“Good morning, daddy,” Jack finally spoke. “I didn’t know we had company! I’m sorry I screamed and wake you up,” he said animatedly, a bright smile illuminating his face.

Morgan shot him a weird look, this kid was way too chipper for this early in the morning. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep for another _day_ or two, get a cup of coffee, and only then would he consider interacting with other human beings. He knew he wouldn’t get his wish though. There was no way Hotch’s kid was going to keep quiet now that his dad was up. He let out an inaudible sigh and stood up.

“Morning, buddy,” Hotch said, ruffling the boy’s blond sandy hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you. This is Derek. He’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

Jack crossed the living room and offered Morgan his hand.

“Hi, I’m Jack! How old are you? I’m seven and a half! Do you like pancakes? It’s Saturday-pancake-day!”

Morgan shook the proffered hand and smirked. He had to remember to tell JJ about this whole ‘day of the pancakes’.

“Hello, you can call me D-man,” Morgan said only half-jokingly. I’m thir – err – I’m eight,” and then he looked up at Hotch and added, “Pancakes are cool, but I really want coffee.”

Jack eyed him oddly, unsure of how to react. Who was this kid and where did he come from? He sure wasn’t allowed to drink coffee! Caffeine was bad for children, didn’t Derek know that? He turned around toward his dad, waiting for Hotch to say something.

Sensing the growing tension between the boys, Hotch suggested they watch cartoons on TV while he got breakfast ready. Jack and Morgan faced each other for a few moments, both scrutinizing the other, but then Morgan shrugged and Jack smiled widely, showing his dimples.

The young Hotchner grabbed the remote on the side table, and they both climbed on the couch.

“I want to watch Pokemon. This is my house, so I get to decide,” Jack whispered harshly all the while smiling.

Morgan raised an eyebrow and eyed the kid, impressed. He had thought, with his goody-chirpy attitude, that Jack would be a doormat, but he was happy to see it wasn’t the case. Though he wouldn’t be able manipulate him easily, they could use his sweet angelic façade to their advantage. The child-sized agent didn’t even bother answering him, too busy thinking up plans worthy of the best villains.

Morgan watched the show without paying much attention. Weird looking animals were fighting on the screen, and Jack seemed enthralled by all the action. The little blond turned up the volume when Hotch started the mixer in the kitchen, his eyes never leaving the screen.

“Hey, Hotch?” Morgan yelled suddenly, twisting around so he was leaning on the back of the couch. “You said I could call JJ in the morning. It’s morning now.”

Jack’s head whipped around. “You know JJ?” he asked with a curious frown.

Morgan ignored Jack’s question and waited for his boss to answer his. Thinking Hotch couldn’t hear him over the noise of the mixer, he repeated his demand louder this time.

“I heard you the first time, Derek,” he heard Hotch say once the appliance was turned off. “How about we have breakfast first and then we can invite her and Prentiss over? You kids can play in the pool and enjoy the last few good days of summer.”

“Yeah! That sounds good,” Morgan agreed, relieved he would get to see his friend soon.

“Can we invite Dr. Spencer?” Jack chimed in, his cerulean eyes shining excitedly. The boy hadn’t had a chance to see his dad’s coworkers in a while and he missed them.

“I suppose we can invite the whole team and have a barbecue.”

“Woot!” the young Hotchner cheered merrily, his TV show long forgotten. He loved it when they had people over. It reminded him of a time when his mom was still alive, and they had summer parties in their backyard every weekend.

“Can you guys set the table while I make the pancakes, please?” Hotch asked as he moved the mixing bowls around.

The butter hissed as it melted on the griddle, and Morgan smirked deviously.

“I bet I can eat more pancakes than you,” he challenged the blond boy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I don't know why this chapter took me so long to write. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I hope you'll like it anyway. Please let me know!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Sorry for the mistakes and typos.

The dull ringing of the landline pulled Emily out of her thoughts. She was still lying on the couch with JJ sleeping on top of her, thumb in her mouth. The brunette stretched her arm over her head and blindly reached for the cordless phone. A quick look at the caller ID told Emily her boss was calling.

“Prentiss,” she spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the girl’s slumber. God knew JJ was irritable when woken up.

“Hey Emily, it’s me. How’s it going?” Hotch said on the other end. Emily could hear the boys’ happy chatter in the background.

“Hi Hotch, it’s going okay, how about you?”

“All is good here. Listen, I was wondering if you and JJ wanted to come over today. The kids could play outside, and we could have a barbecue. The rest of the team is coming. Well, except Dave.”

“That sounds great, Hotch. We’ll be there. At what time should we arrive?” she asked, unconsciously rubbing circles on JJ’s back.

“Whenever you are ready, Derek is pretty anxious to see JJ…”

“Is he? Okay, well, Jayje is still asleep. I should probably wake her up soon, and then we’ll get dressed and head right over.”

“She’s still asleep, uh? You’re lucky, Prentiss,” Hotch teased.

“Right,” she scoffed. Emily made sure JJ was fast asleep before she added, “JJ was up late last night, nightmares… And I woke up this morning to find her jumping around on my living room furniture surrounded by coffee cups and chocolate. I thought I would have to call 911 for caffeine intoxication!”

Hotch surprised her with a genuine infectious laugh, and she couldn’t help the smile spreading on her lips.

“Babysitting 101, Prentiss, never leave a small child unsupervised. Especially a former adult turned into a one.”

“Trust me, lesson learned!” she assured, chuckling. “Do I need to bring anything when we come over?”

“No, I have everything, and Garcia’s bringing desserts. The boys want to swim, so bring JJ’s bathing suit and yours if you want.”

“Alright, sounds good. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you later,” Hotch said, and the line went dead.

***

“Em’ly.”

“Yes, Jayje?”

“I’m awake. For real this time.”

“Are you now?”

“Uh, uh,” JJ nodded vigorously, but didn’t make a move to get up. Her head was tucked under Emily’s chin, her arms hanging limply by her sides.

The brunette ran her hand slowly up and down’s JJ’s back. She had been trying to wake her up for the last fifteen minutes, but apparently no amount of caffeine could keep her little body from getting the sleep it so desperately needed.

“How’s your tummy?”

“Better,” JJ whispered, and Emily thought she was falling back asleep.

“Hotch invited us over today.”

“Oh…” The little girl squirmed and brought her fingers back into her mouth, a sign that she was clearly uncomfortable about something, but Emily didn’t understand the sudden change in her mood.

“Do you want to go? He said Jack and Derek are going to swim and they’d like if you would join them.”

“Are you going too?”

“Yes, of course I’m going to go,” Emily reassured her, wrapping her arms around her.

“Are you going to leave me there with Ho’ch because I was bad?” JJ asked quietly.

The question surprised the brunette, and she sat up on the couch, moving JJ so the little girl was sitting on her lap. Anguish was written all over the blonde’s face and Emily could tell she was close to tears.

“I would never leave you anywhere, Jayje. No matter what you do, I promise. Do you understand?”

JJ kept her eyes on her lap, her right leg bouncing nervously.

“Besides, you weren’t bad. You made a…a bad move, but that doesn’t make you bad at all, okay?”

JJ gave her a wan smile as she wiped the tears off her cheeks clumsily with her little palms.

“So how about we get dressed? I heard Garcia is bringing cupcakes!”

The little girl’s eyes brightened at the news and she jumped off Emily’s lap.

“Let’s go, P’entiss!” JJ shrieked in excitement. “Get up! We have to get movin’! Do you think she’ll bring the ones with the yellow frosting and the pink sprinkles? They are my fave!” she announced as she ran for the stairs.

Emily shook her head, smiling, amazed at how quickly JJ’s mood seemed to bounce from sad to happy.

***

“Are you ready, JJ?” the brunette asked as she walked into her guest bedroom. Getting no verbal answer, she looked up from her phone and she had to bite her lip between her teeth to keep herself from laughing.

Little JJ was standing in front of the full-length mirror, arms up in the air with a hard look of concentration on her face as she tried to tie up her blonde hair in a messy ponytail.

She had decided to wear a white denim short-overall with blue flowers embroidered on the front over an aqua t-shirt. A quick look around the room told Emily that her outfit hadn’t been chosen at random. JJ had spread shirts and bottoms all over the bed, creating matching outfits.

“Do you need help doing your hair, Jay?” Emily asked when she heard the blonde huff in frustration.

JJ turned around to face her, letting her arms drop heavily by her sides.

“I can’t get this stupid tie to hold my hair!” she cried crossly, holding up the offensive object for Emily to see. “I think it’s broken.”

The woman chuckled at JJ’s declaration.

“Broken, uh? I’ll get a brush and we’ll fix this wild hair of yours in no time,” Emily promised, heading to her own room.

JJ followed her out, trotting happily behind her.

“Em’ly, do you know how to do braids?” the little girl inquired when they reached the bedroom.

“Yes, is that what you want me to do with your hair?”

“Do you know how to do French braids?”

“Yes, come on, hop on,” Emily said with a smile, patting the spot in front of her on her bed. “One or two braids?”

“One.”

JJ climbed onto the bed and sat, crossing her legs. “Hey, Em?”

“Yeah?” the woman answered, as she gently began to run the brush through JJ’s tangles.

“Do you think we can stop by my house? I want to get something.” The tremor in the child’s voice broke Emily’s heart.

“Of course, sweetie. We’ll stop on our way to Hotch’s.”

Once her hair was done, she ran back to the mirror and inspected Emily’s handy work. Seemingly satisfied with the result, the little girl proceeded to shove her swimsuit and another change of clothes - at Emily’s recommendation - into her new _Hello Kitty_ backpack, while the brunette gathered her own things.

“Em’ly! I am ready!” she yelled in a sing-song voice, waiting impatiently by the front door.

***

“Give me the keys, JJ, I’ll do it.”

“No, it’s my house! I want to unlock the door! I can do it!” the little blonde replied stubbornly. “I never needed your help before!”

“Sweetie, you can’t even reach the lock…” Emily argued even though she knew it was futile. She had learned very quickly that using logic against the five year-old JJ didn’t work, and that some fights weren’t worth picking.

“How about I lift you up so you can do it? The sooner we get in, the sooner you can jump in that pool.”

Little JJ had rambled on and on about how excited she was to go swimming. She loved water, she loved swimming, she was going to dive and splash, and if Hotch let her go on the twisty slide, she was going to die happy.

“Okay!”

After a few missed tries, JJ was able to align the key in the lock, and the familiar ‘click’ was heard. They both got inside, and Emily entered the code to disarm the system as JJ rushed to her bedroom, completely oblivious to the beeping of her alarm.

“I’ll be riiight back! Stay here!” the little blonde yelled behind her shoulder.

Emily waited for a few minutes downstairs, pacing the length of the living room. She was getting more and more curious as to what JJ was doing up there, and after a while, her curiosity morphed into worry. She couldn’t hear anything and she knew children were never _that_ quiet.

She climbed the stairs two at a time and knocked on JJ’s bedroom door before pushing it open. The blonde was curled up on her bed, her back to the door, but Emily could tell by the shaking of JJ’s shoulders that she was crying.

“Aw, Jayje, what’s wrong sweetie?” Emily asked as she sat down on the edge of JJ’s bed.

“I…I am scared,” she sobbed heavily, hiding her face into her pillow. “I feel like I’m losing myself. I c-can’t control what I do,” she smacked her little hand down against the mattress in frustration. “What if the doctor can’t change us back? I can feel the grown-up me slipping away… What if I disappear completely? Who…who’s gonna take care of little me?”

“Me,” Emily replied simply. “I will always take care of you, Jayje.” She stroked her thumb across the little girl’s tear-stricken cheek, before scooping her up in her arms and hugging her close to her chest.

“You gotta have faith in the doctors, JJ. I’m sure they’ll figure it out. And in the meantime, if little JJ wants to come out and play, well you just let her. You deserve to have some fun.”

They sat there on the bed for a while. Emily ran her hand up and down JJ’s back soothingly as her sobs turned to quiet sniffles.

“So, are you going to introduce me to this lovely friend of yours?” Emily asked eyeing the toy the blonde was clutching tightly.

“This is Cocoa the monkey,” JJ introduced her to her stuffed animal. “He doesn’t like to be home alone…”

Emily was pretty sure Cocoa had no qualms about being ‘home alone’, but she went with it anyway.

“Well, Cocoa is simply gonna have to come with us then. Can’t leave him all by himself.”

“I can’t reach my blankie,” JJ whispered pitifully. “ _Iss_ up there in my closet. Cocoa wants it.”

Emily sat her down on the bed next to her, and got up to retrieve the coveted blanket. It was a faded pink with pale yellow ducks. The edges were frayed, but from the look on JJ’s face when she handed it to her, its sentimental value was priceless.

JJ rubbed it against her cheek, her eyes closed, and sighed happily.

***

JJ hurried up the path that lead to Hotch’s house, her _Hello Kitty_ backpack bouncing as she ran, Cocoa the monkey tucked under her arm. She had decided to leave her blankie in the car, “it’s _safer-est_ here,” she had told Emily quite seriously.

She rang the bell three times quickly and was about to press it again when Reid opened the door.

“Spence!” JJ squealed, delighted to see her friend. “We’re going to swim! I never swam in Ho’ch’s pool before! Do you have your suit?”

Reid blinked at her as if she were an alien creature, but the little girl didn’t seem fazed by it at all.

“Where is Ho’ch? I have to ask him something,” JJ kept on babbling, pushing her way into the house, still unaware of the intense awkwardness Reid was feeling. She took her bag off her shoulders and dug in to find her swimsuit. Garcia had gotten her a floral, navy blue and white stripped one-piece with pink straps, and JJ thought it was the prettiest thing she had ever owned.

Without thinking, she started to take her clothes off right in the middle of the living room. “I wanna try the slide! It looks like so _mush_ fun!” she exclaimed, pulling down her underwear.

Cheeks burning bright with embarrassment, Reid promptly turned around and hurried out of the room, mumbling something about going to look for Hotch for her.

“Thanks, Spence!”

Emily stood in the living room archway, amused by the exchange she had just witnessed. She took a step forward and cleared her throat.

“Um, Jayje? Maybe next time you should change in the bathroom…” she suggested gingerly, not wanting to embarrass the little girl.

But JJ simply shrugged, clearly not understanding what the brunette was trying to say. Since they’d had their conversation at the blonde’s house, Emily felt like little JJ was more present; her five year-old mind taking over her adult’s.

“I can’t wait to go in the pool!” she squealed, jumping from foot to foot.

The little girl picked up her clothes and handed them to Emily in haste, before scampering through the kitchen and out the patio door.

“JJ, wait a minute,” the brunette called, but the girl had already slid the door behind her. She bent down and picked up the abandoned plush monkey on the floor.

***

“Ho’ch! Ho’ch!” JJ yelled excitedly when she spotted her boss standing by the pool where Morgan and Jack were splashing about, noodle-fighting.

“Sunshine! Aw you are so freaking adorable in that little swimsuit!” Garcia cooed. The tech was in the water, straddling an inflatable unicorn.

“Hi, Pen,” JJ waved shyly at her. She slowly inched toward Hotch and hid behind his leg. She glanced around the yard searching for Reid. He was sitting on a lounge chair in the shades, a book propped open on his lap. Typical.

“JJ! You are finally here!” Morgan hollered happily as he climbed out of the pool, followed by Jack. “Where’s Prentiss?”

The boys ran to the little blonde girl, trailing water behind them, and Morgan crushed her into a bear hug, getting her all wet. JJ gasped, not expecting to feel this cold.

“Derek!” JJ shrieked huffily, pushing him away from her. She had tried to sound angry, but she couldn’t help the giggle that passed her lips. She really was happy to see him.

“Jack, this is my…my cousin JJ,” Morgan introduced the two blond children. “JJ, this is Jack, Hotch’s kid!” He stared up at Hotch to see if he had said the right thing, presenting JJ as his cousin, and the unit chief rewarded him with a nod.

“Hi, JJ,” Jack greeted, frowning. “It’s very weird. You guys have the same names as my dad’s friends.”

“Hello, Jack,” the girl mumbled, hiding further behind Hotch. Her boss took a step aside and gently pushed her a little forward, but she gripped his swim shorts and raised an arm, silently demanding to be picked up.

“Ho’ch, can I swim in your pool?” she asked eagerly once he had lifted her up in his arms.

“Sure you can, JJ, that’s why I invited you over,” he affirmed, tickling her tummy. The girl squirmed in his arms, and Hotch beamed upon hearing the giggles bubbling out of her.

“I want to try the twisty sli-”

“Daddy, are you coming?” Jack suddenly interrupted, sounding annoyed. He didn’t like that his dad was paying attention to the girl, not one bit. Who was she anyway and how did she even know his dad? “You promised you’d do a giant bomb!”

“I’m coming in just a second, buddy.”

“Jayje?” Emily called as she joined her team in the backyard. She had changed into a black bikini and had a beach towel wrapped around her waist. “You need to put on sunscreen, come here.”

“There you go,” Hotch said as he put her down on her feet. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

She skipped all the way to where Emily was crouching, waiting with a bottle of sunblock in her hand. The brunette tapped JJ’s nose with her index finger, and the girl made a funny, scrunchy face at her.

“Em’ly,” JJ whispered conspiratorially after Emily smeared cream all over her, “I _hafta_ pee!”

***

“Aren’t you going to go in the pool, sunshine?” Garcia asked as she noticed JJ standing a good three feet from the edge. “You were so excited to try the slide!”

She and Emily were now lounging on chaises longue, watching the boys (Hotch included) wrestling and splashing in the water. Reid was sitting on the ground, in his swim shorts, under a parasol, playing a game on his phone.

“I don’t know… I could drown!”

“Isn’t that a little melodramatic, Sugar?” the tech laughed.

“You’re not going to drown, sweetie,” Emily replied with a frown. She was getting more and more concerned with JJ’s mood swings. “You’ve got floaties on, and we’re right here. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I could die.”

“This is a typical display of anxiety in a child,” Reid recited casually, not even bothering to look up from his screen. “It is estimated that…”

“Shut up, Spence!” Emily got up on her feet so fast she startled everyone around into silence. “You’re coming inside with me, right now,” she growled, hauling the genius by his arm.

***

“What the hell was that?” Emily asked him angrily after she slammed the sliding-door shut behind them.

“Wha-what?” Reid sputtered, clearly confused. He had no idea what he had done wrong. He scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out why Emily was so mad.

“You don’t just say things like that in front of kids, Reid! JJ is obviously having a hard time dealing with what’s happening to her.” She took a deep breath, trying to temper the rage she was feeling growing inside her on behalf of the little girl.

_‘It’s not his fault,_ ’ she reminded herself, ‘ _he’s got the social capacities of an eight year-old._ ’

“I know you are trying to help, but you pointing out her every reaction out loud is not helping. JJ is going to feel even more self-conscious if you keep saying things like that. It surely makes her uncomfortable. She’s not just any five year-old, Reid. She’s JJ and she still has her adult faculties.” Most of the time, she should say, but that is not the point.

“She’s aware of what’s going on around her. She probably doesn’t want the world to know she’s struggling with her anxiety,” Emily explained as calmly as she could.

Reid seemed to understand what she was saying and he managed to look quite sheepish.

“And now that we’re at it,” Emily added, “where did you find all that information about JJ’s childhood, about her sister?”

“She told me once, why?”

Emily rubbed her forehead, laughing mirthlessly.

“She told you… That information was personal, Reid, you don’t use it to write a report on your friends and make pie charts! Do you know how hurt she would be if she knew you betrayed her trust like that?”

“But…”

“No,” the brunette cut him off, “no buts. What you did was so wrong, no matter what your intentions were!”

***

Shortly after Emily and Reid went inside, the two boys resumed their water games, quickly forgetting the little argument between the adults.

Hotch excused himself, and climbed out of the pool. Catching JJ’s eyes on him, the unit chief shook himself like a wet dog would, propelling drops of water everywhere, and earning a shy upturn of the lips from the little blonde haired girl.

He had heard everything that had happened between his two profilers and he had to admit he was a bit uneasy with JJ’s behaviour. She was a lot more subdued than the adult version, and he didn’t like uncertainty she displayed at times. Hotch grabbed his towel and sat down on a chair, on the other side of the pool, across from where Garcia was ‘sunbathing.’ Hotch knew she was only pretending not to be upset for the sake of the children, and he really was impressed by how well she was handling everything.

“JJ, honey, can you come here a minute?” he asked lightly.

The child nibbled her bottom lip worriedly, before sliding her two fingers back in her mouth, and slowly shuffled to where he sat. Hotch came to understand that the finger sucking was her security blanket; it helped her cope during situations that made her uncomfortable. Maybe she was a little too old to be sucking her thumb, but he decided he wouldn’t say anything about it.

“Wha?” she mumbled around her digits, staring down at her feet.

“I heard you were afraid of going into the water,” he said gently. “Did something bad ever happen to you in a pool when you were young?

“No,” JJ answered, shaking her head.

“Is it because you don’t know how to swim?” he tried again, determined to get to the bottom of it.

“I know how to swim!” JJ declared proudly, finally making eye contact with him. “I’ve known since I was four years-old!” she added, showing him four tiny fingers, two slippery with drool.

Hotch smiled, a dimpled grin, at how adorable little JJ was.

“Alright then, well it’s okay if you don’t want to swim. I can turn on the sprinkler for you if you want to cool down a little,” he told her, pointing to a small, red plastic fire hydrant on the grass under the trees.

JJ studied his face intently for a while, unsure if she had done something wrong.

“Are you mad?” she asked at last, when she was unable to read his face. “Because I’m being difficult?”

Hotch’s heart squeezed in his chest. He could see the conflict of JJ’s young and adult personalities raging behind her bright, ocean blue eyes.

“Not at all, JJ, nobody is mad at you, and you aren’t being difficult,” Hotch promised, rubbing her shoulder in a fatherly manner. “So do you want me to turn the water on for you?”

She shook her head, “I’m going to sit with Penny.”

Without a word, JJ clambered on the chair Garcia was lounging on, and crawled on top of the uncharacteristically quiet blonde.

“You okay, Sunshine?” she asked coolly, trying not to let the girl know how thrilled she was that little JJ was finally cuddling with her. If she squealed and made a big deal out of it like she really wanted to, Garcia was certain she would scare JJ off. The tech definitely didn’t like how careful they had to act around the little girl. It broke her heart to see JJ looking so confused.

“When do you think Em’ly is going to come back outside?” JJ asked her, pensive. “Is she grounding Spence? I think he said something bad! Did you hear her? She said ‘shut up!’” JJ perked up as she recalled the events, and Garcia was relieved to see that JJ hadn’t picked up on Reid’s implications.

“Shut up! Shut up!” JJ repeated, imitating Emily and giggling madly.

“Don’t say that, Sunshine, it’s not very nice. Emily didn’t mean to say it like that. And I’m sure she’ll be out soon. Do you want me to take these off?” she asked, referring to the useless floaties JJ was still wearing, hoping to distract her.

“Nope!” she said chirpily, popping the last syllable. “Look, I’m Super JJ!” The little girl showed off her inflatable ‘muscles’.

Garcia chuckled and bopped her on the nose. “You are too precious for words, missy!” she cooed.

“I’m not Missy,” JJ sassed with disdain only a young child can muster. “I’m Jay-Jay. I’m going to ask Em’ly to go in the pool with me,” she added, abruptly changing the subject.

“Ask who?” Garcia teased.

“Em’ly!”

The tech burst out laughing, and JJ had no idea why.

***

Moments later, after having settled their arguments, Reid and Emily got back to the little group, both smiling. Reid had admitted that his actions, in hindsight, hadn’t been professional - he had got carried away, and Emily promised to give him a call if she needed a crash course on how to deal with kids suffering with anxiety. She didn’t plan on taking him up on his offer – that’s what google was for, right? – But they had hugged it out awkwardly and now they had put this little disagreement behind them.

“Em’ly!” JJ yelped, jumping off the chaise longue and landing wobbly on her feet. The little girl waddled to her and raised her arms up, a gesture Emily had come to interpret as ‘please, pick me up’.

“What’s up, peanut?” Emily chuckled when JJ scrunched up her nose at the new nickname.

“Did you put Spence in timeout?” JJ whispered loudly enough for Reid to hear. The genius’ ears turned bright red, and Emily could swear she caught a mischievous glint in JJ’s eyes. Was little JJ enjoying teasing Reid?

“Nobody was put in timeout. We had an adult discussion, that’s all.”

JJ sobered up at the ‘adult’ part. Her smile vanished and her eyes lost their mirth. Emily felt a pang in her chest and squeezed the little girl a little tighter.

“Hey, JJ,” Reid called out, trying to diffuse the tension he felt growing, “if I go in the water, will you come with me?”

“You want to go in the pool?” JJ asked, shocked. “You don’t know how to swim! Aren’t you afraid?” She looked at him, her eyes wide with something close to admiration.

“A little,” Reid replied with a shrug.

JJ stared longingly at the pool, the clear water shining under the sun. The boys were oblivious to the world outside, and the girl envied them. She didn’t know why she was scared of the water. She knew how to swim, she had always loved water as a kid, so why did her belly do flips every time she thought of going in?

Emily felt JJ go rigid in her arms, and readjust her grip on the girl, supporting her back with a hand.

“I-I want to go in,” she finally said, “but Em’ly you go _wiff_ me, okay?” JJ bit and sucked her thumb, her gaze never leaving the pool.

***

Morgan and Jack were ecstatic when they learned that Reid, Emily and JJ were going to join them in. They cheered when Reid jumped in; giggling when the genius plugged his nose even though his head never went under water.

Emily sat on the edge with JJ on her lap, swirling their feet in the water, Garcia was doing the same next to them.

“Are you ready now?” the brunette asked JJ.

The little girl nodded, “Can you go first and then me?”

“Sure.” Emily placed JJ on the ground between her and Garcia, her before pushing herself into the water. When she broke the surface again, she smiled and extended her arms toward the tiny blonde who looked quite fearful.

“Come on, Jayje. We’ll go slowly.”

“Go for it, sunshine,” Garcia encouraged. “You know you want to! And look, Spencer is doing just great.”

That was true. Reid seemed to be doing just fine, wading in the water with a childish grin on his face. If he could do it, she could to! JJ got closer to the edge, and let Emily lift her up in the air.

JJ’s little body was shaking, but Emily decided that as long as she didn’t explicitly tell her to stop and get her out of the water, she wouldn’t. Slowly, the brunette lowered the little girl down into the pool, JJ gripping her arms tightly. The blonde whimpered once the water was up to her torso and she kicked her feet in panic, her nails digging little crescents in Emily’s skin.

“No! No!” JJ flailed her arms and gasped at how cold the water was at first.

“You’re okay, Jayje, see? You’re floating, you’re okay,” Emily reassured her with a warm smile, letting go of JJ’s waist, only to hold her by the hands instead.

“Don’t let go!”

“I won’t, not until you want me too, sweetie,” she promised.

***

Hours later, the kids were still in the pool, flapping and screaming happily. JJ, once confident that she wouldn’t drown, had asked if she could take the swimming aids off and try the slide. After making sure the little girl knew how to swim without floaties, Emily helped her slip them off her arms and let her play on her own.

The boys had tried to include her into their ‘under water dragon’ game, but not able to keep up with them, JJ had quickly lost interest, and had opted for a game of her own with an imaginary friend that included going down the slide over and over again and jumping on the unicorn. Emily and Garcia both watched, amused, as JJ talked animatedly to her invisible, mermaid friend Ariel. It was the cutest thing they had ever seen.

Around four o’clock, Hotch fired the grill and started cooking an early dinner. Nobody had had lunch; they had only snacked on chips and popsicles throughout the afternoon.

Garcia and Reid went inside to replenish the chip bowls, get a plate of raw veggies and dip together and mix a salad to go with their burgers, while Emily stayed by the pool to check on the kids.

“Okay, JJ, time to get out of the water, baby. You’re freezing,” she said, when she noticed the blue tinge of the blonde’s lips.

“But the b-boys are still p-playing, is not fai-fair!” she yelled, her teeth chattering with cold.

“Everyone’s getting out,” Hotch stated sternly over the grill. “No arguments,” he added when they all started to protest.

Emily stood on the edge of the pool and pulled JJ out of the water by her arms. The little girl laughed merrily, kicking her feet, attempting to splash Emily.

The brunette wrapped a fluffy towel around the girl’s shivering frame. "Let's get you warmed up, peanut!" Emily said teasingly, as she rubbed JJ down vigorously.

"Ow! Ow! Emmy! No!" JJ shrieked when the brunette rubbed her back. She took a few steps backwards, dodging Emily, and dropped her towel. The skin behind her neck was burning.

"Oh my god, Jayje!" Emily exclaimed, upon seeing the little girl's back.

"What?" JJ said, twisting her head around, trying to get a look.

"JJ!" Jack cried. "You have super-mega-bad sunburn!"

“But I put _suncream_!” JJ cried indignantly, stomping her little foot down.

"You do too!" Morgan remarked, pointing at Jack's chest. The little blond boy looked down, and sure enough, his skin was bright red. When he looked up again, his mouth formed a perfect little 'o' and his eyes wide.

"We should've got you guys to reapply sunblock when you had your snack earlier," Hotch said as he brought a platter of burgers over. "It's not going to be comfy in bed for you munchkins tonight."

"Oh, it will be for me!" Morgan said smugly, sticking his tongue out.

"Okay, you guys!" Garcia exclaimed loudly as she and Reid brought more food to the patio table. "Who's hungry?"

Sunburns momentarily forgotten, the trio of kids burst into a chorus of 'me, me, me!'

***

"Anyone wants more coffee?" Reid demanded, holding out the pot.

"Yeah, I definitely could use some more," Emily replied with a tired smile. She pushed her cup a little forward, careful not to wake up JJ who had dozed halfway through eating her cupcake; the day out in the sun had worn them all out.

"Hopefully they'll all sleep through the night," Hotch said, taking a sip of his coffee as he looked over at the boys who were playing with tiny army figures in the sandbox.

The sun was setting gradually in the horizon, the skies painted a colourful mix of pinks and purples. Hotch had turned on the lights as the yard grew darker and darker with each passing moments.

"They seem to be acting like real children," Garcia pointed out over the lip of her mug. They had all noticed it over the course of the day, but nobody had brought it up until now. Reid had wanted to say something earlier, but after his talk with Emily, he figured he should wait.

"JJ said something to me about it this morning," Emily replied, instinctively brushing strands of hair away from the sleeping child's face. "She said it's hard to control little JJ's reactions. Even though she knows it's not right or rational, she can't help it sometimes. I told her she should just let go and enjoy herself while she could. I think it would make it easier for them if we encourage them to behave like kids..."

"I think Emily's right," Hotch agreed. "Acting like adults in their small bodies has got to be confusing for them.”

“Their two selves seem to be fusing together,” Reid observed.

JJ stirred in Emily's arms, and the adults watched, almost with fascination, as her back arched, before slumping against the brunette’s chest and sighing deeply, still fast asleep.

"Well, I think I'll take this little one back home," Emily said as she drained the last of her coffee. "Put her to bed, and get some shut-eye myself."

"Yes, good idea. Boys, come say goodbye, Emily and JJ are leaving," Hotch called them.

"Oh I think we're going too, right Spence?" Garcia said. The young genius nodded in agreement, excited at the prospect of his silent apartment where he could read without being interrupted by children constantly. He loved his friends, but he wasn't used to be surrounded by kids. He was so completely out of his comfort zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideas for this story are welcomed. I'm keeping the suggestion of the team going to Chuck E. Cheese for later :)
> 
> I'm also contemplating the idea of starting a Jemily drabble collection (just like my Swan Queen one). So if you guys have prompts, you can leave them on my tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always greatly appreciated! xx


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